Cross Ange - Futatsu Sekai no Border
by carlos olivera
Summary: The gate will open. The armies will descend. The war will rage "I'm doing as you told me, sister. I'm fighting. And if to save my world I'll be forced to fight against you, or even kill you... So be it!" Sylvia's adventures in a post-apocalyptic world into a mission that could lead to the salvation, or the extinction, of all mankind.
1. FIRST PART - FRAGMENTS

FIRST PART  
FRAGMENTS

Another day was about to end at the Ange Café.

The sun had already begun its descent over the horizon, beyond the ocean, and the first stars had made their way across the orange sky, filling the air with magic.

Ange looked up from the counter, watching quietly as the superb figures of a pair of dragons, a male and a female, engaged in chasing each other in one of their courtship games.

Ange almost could not believe to have fought them for almost one year, and all because of a sadistic plan hatched by the dirty mind of a self-proclaimed god.  
But now those days were gone.

Now there (was) only peace and prosperity.

Her new nation was growing stronger day by day, attracting a growing number of potential residents.

She was about to lift the tray of empty glasses when someone embraced her from behind.

"Tusk!" she swore. "Stop fooling around."

"Don't pretend you don't like it" he smirked, embracingher a bit stronger.

Unfortunately that pervert had learned to know her very well, and differently from the past as Ange could no longer shirk his displays of affection.

She needed Tusk. He was her life.

They had opened the coffee shop together, creating a common dream of a new life.

The work at the end of the day dried up, and the two lowered the blinds and flipped the sign from open to closed. The pair quickly found themselves half-naked and hugging each other on the sofa, exchanging passionate kisses.

"I hate when you do that," said Ange breathlessly. "I cannot beat you. Do you know how much it's costing us to make your horrible soup that no one wants to eat? "

"I'm happy. Because I have nothing in my body that you didn't break already."

She laughed, amused, exchanging a new kiss with him, then their eyes traveled toward the sunset. And then, on their faces, appeared almost a touch of nostalgia.

"Do you ever think about our old world?" Asked Tusk

"Why should I?" She said, almost angrily. "After all, it's not our world anymore."

"But it was. Who knows what's going on over there; Embryo controlled them in everything. They were puppets in his hands, without them even realizing it. I wonder what's going on now that the bond has been severed. They're not used to make decisions on their own. "

"But they will do so if they want to survive. And in the end, I'm not interested in the fates of those that labelled me a monster and called for my death."

"Still, I refuse to believe that they were all like that."

"They were like clones. Produced to love what they were told to love and to despise what had to be hated.

The Norma were the only exception, and that's why they called us monsters. I find it difficult to think that any of them could be different. "

"I suppose you're right," said Tusk with a smile but did not seem too convinced. "Although I'm sure that, with the death of Embryo, they somehow managed to find their way. That is also the strength of mankind, after all. "

"They must have done it. Otherwise by now they're all probably already dead. A fate that they would have deserved. "

Sometimes Ange was able to be really cynical, sometimes even ruthless, but Tusk did not want to blame her; it was difficult to maintain an objective point of view after all she had endured

It was true that Embryo had programmed them to hate the Normas, but Momoka and Emma had demonstrated that they was not without free will, or the ability to distinguish good from evil.

The hope was that what happened to the two of them had happened also to everyone else, but a part of Tusk doubted that this could really have happened.  
"Speaking of Momoka, where is she?" Asked Tusk. "It's odd that I didn't see her during lunch."

"She went to town with Pamela and the others for shopping. The day after tomorrow will be two years from the end of Libertus. I want to have a party. "

"It's a wonderful idea. I will prepare my best snake soup. "

"Again with that soup!? Is it something from the toilet bowl or what?"

The sunlight continued to fade, disappearing quickly in a matter of moments, replaced by threatening roars: surely a storm was approaching.

Then, suddenly, the door of the room opened.

"It's terrible, noble Angelise!" Yelled Momoka as she appeared at the door, blushing in embarrassment at the sight of her two friends content in their private moment. "I ... I'm sorry!"

"Momoka!" Shouted Ange, covering the chest. "How many times have I told you not to come when you see the blinds down!"

"I'm sorry, noble Angelise" she said in mortification, but she regained her composure in a moment with the exception of her agitation. "But, there is a problem! Hurry, come and see. "

The two lovers looked at each other, confused and a bit worried. Once they were fully dressed again and had reached the nearby cliff, they saw something forming in the sky before them.

It wasn't the first signs of a storm covering the sun.

A circle of black clouds, sinister and threatening, had formed in the sky a few miles away, in the open sea, swirling slowly on itself.

A shiver ran through their bones.

"But that... that is..." stammered Tusk.

He didn't even have time to turn around as his partner was already running toward the warehouse next to the barn.

"Ange, wait for me!"

Together, they opened the heavy metal door, climbing quickly into their machines.

It had been a while since the Villkiss and Arquebus had flown, and yet, immediately after powering up, their engines began to sing like goldfinches.

"Momoka, warn Salako and the others!" Ange ordered as the pair guided their mechs outside. "We're going to see what's going on."

"Yes, my lady," responded her faithful servant, and soon after the two took off at full speed.

...

The closer Ange and Tusk approached the strange, but not unusual weather phenomenon, the more they were able to confirm their fears, and when they finally arrived at the site, in an area where remains of the rusty and decrepit ruins of the old Tokyo had emerged from the sea, its imposing size aroused in them an even greater fear.

"I have never seen one of them of this size," said Tusk on the radio.

It was not uncommon to see a singularity casually opening.

According with the Holy Aura, the barrier dividing the two worlds had been severely impacted by Embryo's attempts to collapse it, leaving some holes which occasionally appeared only to vanish in a few minutes.

Ange and Tusk then waited, hoping that the legacy of old battles would disappear once again, but after several minutes the singularity, rather than close again, almost seemed to enlarge, becoming even more menacing.

"What do we do, Ange? This singularity keeps growing."

Then, a pair of ragna-mail mechs and a para-mail arrived from the city, followed by a large group of dragons, mainly females.

"Here comes the cavalry!" Said Vivian in her childish style.

"At last you're here!" Ange replied.

"Sorry, we're late" Salia said. "It all happened so quickly, and when Momoka called us we arrived as quickly as possible."

"And Salako and the others?"

"They're coming. They'll be here in a few minutes."

"So, what the hell is happening here?" Asked Hilda, rude and outspoken as ever. "Because this (damn) hole has not closed itself yet!"

"Not only is it not closed, but it became bigger," said a worried Tusk. "If things continue to get worse, we should seek help from Holy Aura."

"That goddamn big lizard. She chose the worst moment to go into hibernation."

"Do not call our Mother Aura a big lizard!" Snapped Vivian. "And she didn't go into hibernation, she's recovering! You get your energy drained continuously for hundreds of years, and then see how strong you are."

"Yes, yes, all right," snapped the redheaded girl. "But now what should we do?"

"Let's wait for Salako» Ange advised. "They'll probably help us."

Suddenly, the magnification of the singularity abruptly increased, causing a shower of particle beams that nearly hit the girls and the dragons accompanying them, and when the center of the circle of clouds began to form a semi-transparent surface, beyond which they could see clearly a sky and a land that had nothing to do with their world, the concern in the eyes of Ange and his companions turned to real fear.

"It is ..." he stammered Tusk. "It has broken through!"

It was not possible.

Nobody, apart Midgardia, had the power to do such a thing.

They spent a few moments, long and tense; then, from the slot, one after another a large number of para-mail, some of a model that neither Ange or anyone else remembered ever seen began to come out.

Between them there was one, pitch black, with silver reflections, a high-precision rifle in his belt and a crescent turned in on itself as a melee weapon, and a crimson one, that instead of hands seemed to have a pair of blades that made him look like a mantis.

With them there was a platoon of combat helicopters, aircrafts and other military airplanes.

"But what the fuck ..." cried Hilda

At least, even a ragna-mail appeared, almost a clone of Villkiss, leaving Ange and the others terrified; it had an amber color, with six luminous wings forming a circle behind his back, and the coat of arms of the Imperial Empire Misurugi in the center of the chest.

To ride him, like Embryo used to do with his Hysterica, there was a man with a katana and a uniform of the Ancient People.

"I cannot believe ..." said Tusk, dumbfounded and speechless as everyone. "... Are those inhabitants of the Other Earth !?"

Since when were the inhabitants of the Other Earth was able to open the singularities without Embryo's help?

The newcomers, initially, did not move, remaining near the gate, but Ange and his companions were well aware that such a deployment of forces could not bring anything good.

Slowly, the golden ragna-mail reached the frontlines, and with the eyes of the mind Ange was able to see something in the eye in the soldier sat on it, as a kind of silent order, and his companions immediately charged in any direction.

"I knew it!" Growled the girl. "Ready to fight, quickly!"

Since they had become familiar with the new ragna-mail and the Villkiss's new abilities, Ange, Sanya and Hilda was almost unbeatable, and the same was for Vivian and Tusk, even if they were using normal para-mail.

However, those new opponents proved to be really deadly; planes and helicopters were firing incessantly, flying in all directions to escape the onslaught of dragons, while the black para-mail covered them with deadly accuracy.

The strange thing was that, while most of the para-mail fought, some of them remained at low altitude, intercepting the bodies of dying dragons tumbling into the sea and stinging them with some sort of tentacle needles; these, emerging from some sort huge container carried as a backpack, seemed to suck their blood and guts, reducing them to whitened mummies.

When Vivian noticed it, she lost her head.

"Let my friend alone!" He shouted bearing down upon them, beside himself with rage.

"Vivian, no!" He tried to block it Sanya

A para-mail tried to block her way, but she swept away with one stroke of his boomerang, attacking and destroying two of the binders with a second launch.  
She was about to take down other two, when a strange glow coming from above drew her attention, but it was too late; a moment later, her para-mail trembled, almost dropping her out of the seat, and when she opened her eyes she saw that now, instead of the right arm, she had only a perfectly sawn stump, spurting smoke and sparks.

The young soldier with the katana was there, at his feet, on the rubble of an old skyscraper, partially unsheathed his sword and looking down, almost invisible behind the red visor of the helmet.

"Go!" He ordered in a young but deep voice, and the two gatherers immediately obeyed, disappearing over the portal.

Amazed but not tame the girl tried to grab the assailant with her remaining hand, but this one, till the last, remained still.

"Useless." he whispered.

Again, all happened in the blink of an eye; the young man seemed to disappear, and a moment later he was standing on the head of Vivian's para-mail, while the other arm fell into the sea irreparably severed.

It was more than any machine could bear; fortunately the para-mail didn't explode, but Vivian watched in horror as her machine deactivating itself, then helplessly fall down without power.

"Vivian!" shouted Hilda seeing her friend disappear beneath the surface.

When she tried to help her, however, she found her way blocked by the crimson para-mail, so similar to hers, that after avoided both two slashes and a shoot flew charged against her, forcing Hilda to create a shield to defend herselves.

Then Tusk tried to rescue Vivian, but thanks to his senses soldier the boy successfully perceive the threat that was coming against him him, moving in time and saving his life.

Giving himself the thrust on the head of Vivian's para-mail, the soldier in the black suit literally flew against him a few moments, being taken by the black para-mail after have concluded his attack; it was then that everyone could see a young woman driving the vehicle, short black hair and impassive, almost lifeless gaze.

Her suit was black as the para-mail she was driving, but it also had some sort metal plates similar to the scraps of an armor.  
Ange, seeing the vehicle, was ready to shoot it down with a single shot, but the golden Ragna-mail, that all this time they had remained on the sidelines, suddenly attacked, fanning a pair of swords that, with a simple contact between the ends of the handles, transformed themselves into a lethal double-blade bow.

"I'm not so childish to be defeated by some sort of things."

Nevertheless Ange was forced to withdraw, occasionally responding, but the enemy Ragna-mail kept on fighting and striking.  
"Ange!" cried Salya speaking to his aid.

The pincer attack forced the Ragna-mail to give up the assault, and thanks to Salya's soon it found itself in disadvantage.

Three of his companions come to its aid, small fish surely, that Ange and Salya managed to put down with little effort, but in the time it took them to get back their attention on their main target this one had already moved a mile away, stopping in the middle nowhere as petrified.

Ange was wondering the reason for this strange behavior, when a strange litany came through the radio; a song. And her whole body froze in dismay.

...

始まりの光 Kirali…kirali  
HAJIMARI NO HIKARI KIRALI… KIRALI  
終わりの光 Lulala lila  
OWARI NO HIKARI LULALA LILA

返さんel ragna  
KAESAN EL RAGNA  
砂時計を  
SUNADOKEI WO  
時は溢れん  
TOKI WA AFUREN  
Lulala lila

幾億数多の 命の炎  
IKUOKU AMATA NO INOCHI NO HONOO  
するり堕ちては星に  
SURURI OCHITE WA HOSHI NI  
流れ流れては美しく  
NAGARE NAGARETE WA UTSUKUSHIKU  
また生と死の揺りかごで  
MATA SEI TO SHI NO YURIKAGO DE  
柔く泡立つ  
YAWAKU AWADATSU

...

Two guns appeared on Ragna-mail's shoulders, shouting a terrific amount of energy; its allies, aware the situation, had already moved, but several dragons found themselves invested by the power of the shot, being vaporized.

Even Tusk managed to escape just for a second, but Salya was not so quickly, remaining paralyzed at the sight of that destructive wave reaching her.

"Watch out, Salya!"

Ange was able to shoot at less than half of her usual power, but this fortunately proved to be enough to stop the attack and delete the attack, however taking several damages to the Villkiss.

And, as happened long ago, the clash of opposing forces seemed to awaken something in the mind of the girl, recalling memories of days gone by.  
And again, she was amazed for what she saw: they was the lost memories of a happy, or perhaps terribly hypocritical existence, when everything was simplicity, elegance, luxury.

How was that possible?

The clash between the opposing energies of different Ragna-mail seemed to awaken common memories of both drivers. Who could ever be aboard that damn thing?

"Ange" cried Tusk seeing Villkiss feeling the pinch. "Are you all right?"

"You ..." she growled. "Who the hell are you?"

That voice she actually heard singing seemed familiar effectively; but it was only when she heard it again, cold and severe, that she began to understand.

"You surprise me. Have you forgot me at the point that you don't recognize my voice either? "

Rows of sweat appeared on her forehead, her hands shook stronger around the controls, and an uncontrollable tremor ran through her entire body.

"This... This cannot be ..." she stammered with eyes bulging.

Slowly, the Ragna-mail enemy approached again; the cockpit at the center of the chest opened, and a slender but strengthened body emerged from inside, put in evidence by the suit and embellished with a thick blond and well collected hair.

But most of all, it was the eyes to upset and silenced Ange.

Those was not the eyes she remembered, neither for the color, become red, or for the might inside them.

"It's been a long time, sister."

"Sy ... Sylvia !?"


	2. Chapter 1

1

_Four months before_

With its sudden disappearance from the world, the mana had taken away not only most of human technology, but more importantly anything that mankind had built in over five hundred years in terms of society, civilization and culture.

It was like waking up from a dream.

Accustomed to have it all, most of mankind, relying on the power to have anything with no effort at all, and finding itself having to rely only on its own strength, had lost the right path, surrendering to its lowest instincts.

Everything had crumbled on itself, and almost two years after the fall of all guarantees there was no light on the horizon, with crime, lawlessness and law of the strong still dominating all over the world.

But more than anything else, as usual, men had sought someone to hate, on which to pin the blame for what was happening, and the relief valve, as expected, were them again: the Norma.

In truth that distinction was completely useless at that point: with the disappearance of the distinguishing tracts between humans and the supposed subhuman, there were no longer any visible differences, but the old traditions, in spite of everything, had not died.

It looked as if time had gone back to the Stone Age, with some kind of collective madness in which a suspicion, an accusation, even a word in bad faith dictated by envy or jealousy, was enough to cause real disasters, with violent lynchings and summary executions.

Not that the Norma, those that had existed prior to that sort of apocalypse, had disappeared; and indeed, it was precisely because of this that the situation had degenerated so much.

Harassed, persecuted and ghettoized for centuries, many Norma had seen in the disappearance of the mana an opportunity to make up for all the wrongs, and had formed armed gangs that preyed upon human settlements, killing and plundering, only to later receive the same treatment in a perverse killing game that already cost the lives of countless people.

Humans killed the Norma, the Norma killed the humans, with both factions tearing themselves up as rabid animals, looking for hypothetical dissidents, traitors and infiltrators.

The Empire of Misurugi, if possible, was even worse off.

With an imperial family decimated and the crisis that had begun just within its borders, social tensions and anarchy exploded as nuclear bomb, and the ancient, glorious capital was now a pile of debris, where bullies, robbers and looters domineered.

Venturing there was really dangerous, so most of the settlements that had been painstakingly built in all that time had been placed in other regions, especially in the hinterland, protected by forests and mountains.

This however did not prevent the bands of raiders that scoured the area to do whatever they wanted all over it, and for the survivors it was very difficult to efficiently protect the communities.

Luckily there was someone who refused to hole up in his refuge, not caring on what happened outside it.

One night, not far from the old imperial road leading to the capital, five robbers were partying around a fire, quaffing beer and singing as loudly as they could, happily examining their latest booty.

One of them, so drunk that he couldn't stand up, ventured into the middle of the low bush to relieve himself, but just as he lowered his trousers a mysterious, apparently minute assailant wrapped a garrote around his throat, strangling him before he managed to scream; a moment later, his companions in the camp heard an unmistakable noise behind them, raising their hands immediately.

"Don't make a move, or I'll burn your brains!" said a voice, feminine and pleasant, but currently incredibly threatening. "Get up slowly!"

One of them tried to grab his gun, but a bullet in a shoulder immediately convinced him otherwise, and then their leader, a hulking brute with an eyepatch over the left eye, obeyed the order along with his companions.

Before him there was a piece of sheet metal that served as a makeshift mirror; so, when he had the opportunity to look inside, he was so amazed by what he saw that he burst out laughing.

"This beats everything!" he said, turning around. "What a surprise! None other than Princess Sylvia came to visit us. "

"Do not take a step!" she ordered, her gun firmly pointed at him. "You are the ones who have robbed the fields in the region, do you?"

"We can reach an agreement," the leader calmly stated. "We made a good haul. We could split it quietly, and there is plenty to satisfy everyone. "

"Stolen goods. From people who needed it to survive. "

"This is just a point of view. If you're not strong enough to defend your stuff, you cannot be surprised if someone steals them. "

Sylvia was not surprised by such an egoistical point of view; perhaps because, in the past, she was not so very different from them.

"It's because of people like you that this world cannot recover."

"Look who's talking, you fucking Norma's friend!" another bandit spat out, and it was only by a miracle that Sylvia was able to keep her cool and not make a hole in his forehead.

"Leave here all that you have stolen and leave."

"So, in this case, where would be the difference between you and us?" Asked the chief.

"I do not keep anything for me. This is the difference. "

Unwisely, Sylvia let her guard down, and the boss immediately took advantage, throwing at her face a mixture of sand, ash and embers, and blinding her just enough to allow him and others to get a hold of theit weapons.

However they did not have time to shoot her, because someone, hiding in the bushes, fired, leaving one of them dead on the ground with a bullet lodged into his ear. His companions then fired, but Sylvia was already hidden behind a tree and quickly returned fire, initiating a furious gunfight in which two other people soon joined in, an eighteen years-old brunette and a young man, both protected by bulletproof vests.

The raiders, refusing to flee and abandon their booty, defended it to the last man, dying one after the other without achieving anything, though.

The fight over, everyone relaxed a bit.

Cautiously, Sylvia took a few steps forward, making sure that every enemy was truly dead, and after a while two other girls appeared from the surrounding bushes.

One of them, armed with a rifle, slacks tightly secured at her waist by a belt and a white T-shirt topped by a bulletproof vest, was tall and slender, the chiseled physique like the one of an athlete, or a professional soldier, brown, short hair and blue eyes, a little darker than Sylvia's; the other one looked slightly smaller, but no less athletic, long dark hair in a ponytail and green eyes, and dressed in a less masculine way, perhaps even too feminine considering the place, which increased her figure's elegance.

"Congratulations for the aim, Ashley," said Sylvia holstering her gun. "So it's true what I heard about the Arzenal's Norma."

"Compared to the dragons I fought against, these were just scum." Spat the brown girl.

Sylvia looked around, noting the large amount of supplies stacked around the field.

"As usual," she sighed. "Food, weapons and ammunition."

The dark haired girl came up to one of the boxes to inspect it, when suddenly the boss, with just a scratch, made his move, grabbing her and quickly pointing a knife to her throat.

"Stop right there!" He ordered before Sylvia and Ashley could raise their rifles. "Drop your weapons! Immediately! Or I swear I'll cut her throat! "

The two girls looked at each other, then, grumbling, obeyed, throwing both the firearms and the knives in their belt.

"Just as I thought" he laughed. "This is the problem of you whore friends of the poor. You cannot help but defend each others. "

"Really?" a dark, almost frightening voice answered then. "What makes you think that I cannot defend myself?"

In just a moment the girl broke free from the lock, and firmly grabbed the man's arm, dislocating all three joints; then, while he was still screaming, she came up from behind him, and with a determined move and a sharp 'crack' she twisted his head, leaving him dead in the mud.

Then, after making sure he was dead, she knelt before the body, clasped her hands in prayer and murmured some words, tears falling from her eyes.

"One day you'll explain me how can you do it, Mayu" Ashley smiled. "You'd be even able to totally kick that whore Elektra's ass."

"Control your language, Ashley. Have respect for the dead. "

"Do you think they showed respect when they robbed, raped and killed hundreds of people?"

"She's right, Ashley," said Sylvia instead. "If we get used to kill indiscriminately too, we wouldn't be better than them."

In that moment, a pained gasp caught their attention; the first robber to be wounded was still alive, and was trying to crawl away.

Sylvia quicklu reached him, forcing him to turn and pointing her gun between his eyes.

"Please don't kill me!" Pleaded that one, literally pissing himself.

"Where did you steal all this equipment?"

"We ... we have not stolen anything! When we arrived the village was deserted! "

"What village?" Asked Ashley

"Dolkin! Dolkin Village. It was horrendous. ... Someone or something had swept everything away. There were dead everywhere. We took what we could and we ran away.

I swear it's the truth. "

Sylvia looked into his eyes, gauging his fear; then, holstering the weapon, removed her boot from his chest allowing him to get up.

"You have ten seconds to disappear. If I see you again in this region, next time I will aim more carefully. "

Without a second to lose the poor man ran away faster than light, and the three girls, each carrying what she could, returned to the road, where they found an impressive vehicle waiting for them.

It looked like a cross between a truck and a combat vehicle: resting on three axles each with four wheels, each of whom was almost double the thickness compared to a normal wheel; it was protected all around by a thick armour, so strong that not even an anti-tank missile would be able to pierce it.

If the defensive system was top notch, the armament was outright terrific, with small openings to shoot from inside, smoke generators, and most importantly a pair of machine guns with multiple rotary barrels, one fore and one aft, positioned on fully rotating turrets, and a third turret armed with eight SAM rockets. That kind of monster would have been able to enter any fortress without sweating, even the most impregnable.

Countless lights and headlights to pierce even the most complete blackness completed the whole picture.

On the front, decorated with floral motifs, there was a psychedelic graffiti forming into just a name: Bulldog.

"Take it easy Ruka!" Ashley cursed toward the young brown-haired girl quietly chewing gum, leaning against the armor. "There's nothing to do here!"

"We're in a bad mood today. May I suggest a good cup of tea? "

"Stop Ruka, today is not a good day," said Sylvia, loading the two boxes she was carrying with her in the rear

"Nice hunt." Said Ruka

"And you couldn't ever imagine what's in that field. Tomorrow we'll send a van to retrieve everything. For now we'll bring this with us. "

"Aye-aye, boss."

After work the four girls ended up in the rear compartment of the vehicle, furnished as a camper and equipped with every comfort, including a large dining table on which they unrolled a map of the region.

"They said they took all this stuff from the village of Dolkin" Sylvia said pointing at the map. "But they also said that when they arrived they found it already attacked and destroyed."

"So," speculated Mayu. "There may be another gang plundering the settlements in this area?"

"If the story is true, I'm afraid this is not just about that."

"He's right," said Ashley, "What raider would assault a village without stealing anything?"

Sylvia looked up at Ruka.

"How much would it take to get to Dolkin?"

"With the Bulldog, I'd say about two hours."

The four girls eyed each other, and reached a consensus without having to speak, nodding.

"Let's go then"

...

Dolkin already existed before the Apocalypse, as the day the Mana had gone was dubbed, and among all the villages of the region it was definitely one of the most well-defended, with its makeshift walls of debris, its watch towers and its heavy weaponry.

It could be reached from a narrow, vurcy road, deliberately shifted to prevent sudden assaults, and the Bulldog, not being a champion of agility, had some trouble reaching it.

Sylvia and her companions weren't surprises to find the access door destroyed, but when, slowly, their tank passed through the door, terror appeared in their eyes.

In those years, all four of them had seen horrible things, but what remained of Dolkin was beyond imagination.

Everywhere there was destruction and death.

Now-extinct fires had destroyed almost everything, turning the houses of wood and stone in crumbling piles of debris, and the air, full of a terrifying silence, smelled of death.

The fire had not gone easy on the bodies either, and the few that had not been burned to the bone appeared to be mangled beyond recognition.

The four girls had to force themselves to not look away, and when, fully armed, they came down from the armored vehicle, the smell was such strong that they almost threw up.

"Oh, my God." Ruka managed to mutter.

It was not possible.

It was not human.

Who could have ever conceived such a monstrosity? To what lengths human folly so long repressed by the conditioning of Embryo could get?

Sylvia tightened her hands around the gun, trying to control the anger she felt inside her.

"Let's survey the are. See if we can figure out what happened here. "

"I swear that if I'll find the fucker who did all this I'll wreck his shit!" Cursed Ashley, moving towards the old town hall along with Mayu.

Sylvia and Ruka instead walked along one of the streets that lead away from the square, but it took only a few minutes of inspection to realize that there was nothing in there, but most importantly no one to save.

Whoever had done it, had been careful to cover his or her tracks, leaving no survivors; the fires had also seen to that.

Yet, every draft, every whistle, every movement was seen by both girls as a warning, and both nerves were on the edge.

Sylvia bent down, picking up a wooden toy covered with mud and ash, so charred that it turned to dust in her hand when she tried to lift it. Nearby, lying on his back, there was a charred body, surely the owner of the doll.

"Bastards." She growled.

"Hey, look," said Ruka pointing at the heavy door, apparently boarded up, of a basement across the street. "Maybe there's still something useful there."

At that moment the research of supplies was not even in Sylvia's mind, but nevertheless she still wanted to check out what was in there, so she and her partner came down the stairs.

In front of the door there was another body, too charred and unrecognizable; probably that poor thing, a woman for sure, had desperately tried to save herself by getting in there, unfortunately finding it locked up with a bolt, which had sealed her fate.

To take out the bolt Sylvia was forced to shoot it, and only by putting all of their strength into it she and Ruka managed to open the heavy door, partially melted and warped by the flames.

It looked like an old warehouse, with rows of crates stacked and almost forming a labyrinth; lights, powered by a fuel generator like all the other systems, still worked although only intermittently, creating shadows that with their appearance and disappearance furthered weighed on their nerves.

Amongst the silence, Sylvia and Ruka went deep in the big room, the damp ground crunching under their boots, their fingers on the trigger, ready to shoot.

Suddenly, looking around, Sylvia noticed something, some sort of movement in the darkness. She thought it was an illusion, but then she and her companion heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

"Who's there?" she said, sure to have seen something.

Ruka returned quickly to the door blocking that exit while Sylvia pursued the fugitive, which, knowing to be trapped, stopped moving.

The girl continued to walk in silence, carefully taking each step, until ragged breaths reached her ears.

Turning a corner, she found a girl crouched on the floor, maybe a little younger than her, eleven or twelve years old at most, the long red hair all wet and disheveled, and an expression absent and terrified at the same time, wearing torn clothes; she was wounded, too, although most wounds were mere scratches and bruises.

"Don't be afraid," she said sheathing her gun again. "I will not hurt you."

The little girl didn't seem to have noticed her, keeping her eyes down almost as if dazed, and then Sylvia approached her carefully, trying not to frighten her further.

"Are you ok? Who has done this? "

"They have eaten them," she murmured. "They have drunk their organs."

"What are you talking about? What happened here? "

But she still did not answer, curling up even more, and Sylvia held her trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry. You're safe now. "


	3. Chapter 2

**_Notes_**

**_Viktor (the blonde imperial guard), Rick (the young man with black hair), Helen (the maid), and even Ashley (the brown hair girl with the machine gun) are Sylvia's companions that appear in the last episode._**

**_Akiho instead, for those that doesn't remember this, is Ange's "so called" friend which betrays her in ep.9_**

...

2

For many Sophia was just the most impregnable and best organized settlement in all Misurugi.  
Sylvia had spent almost two years to build it, organizing it along democratic but by no mean weak rules, with a regency council administering everything from food distribution to military defense.  
Thanks to its influence it had even been possible to restart farms and power plants, and even to restore part of the empire's main roads, everything defended by a small but very well trained army.

Sophia had risen from nothing, on a small patch of waste land a few miles away from the ancient capital, but in a short time it had become a real town. According to Sylvia's dream, it was destined to become the heart of a new Misurugi Empire.

The girls returned to town the next day, at almost noon, and like the other times their return was met with enthusiastic greeting by the people that, thanks to the good weather and the merchant's arrival from far lands, were in the streets.

Most of them were inhabitants of the ancient capital, and one could be surprised to see them living in an unusual harmony.

After all, it was the first rule for admission in Sophia: any kind of distinction, beginning with the assumed one between humans and Normas, was banned in favor of an absolute cohesion that, according to Sylvia's mind, was the only way to build a new future for the whole world.

Sylvia was often forced to use drastic methods to enforce the rules, but for the good of of them she had decided to be inflexible, even cruel if necessary: considering what was going on, there was no time for xenophobic sentiments or selfishness.

The girl, Hilda, as she had told them, was placed after their return in the capable hands of Mrs. Carmody, the old teacher who had been entrusted with the management of a school.

Even Ashley and Mary were let off, heading respectively to the canteen and to the showers, while Ruka took it upon herself to bring her child to the store to unload the recovered materials, then to the garage for the Bulldog's maintenance.

As for Sylvia, when she stored all the weapons in the armory according to the rules, she reached the headquarters, an old apartment building that had been used since the beginning as the starting point for the growth of the entire complex.

When she entered the meeting room at the third floor, Captain Viktor, an imperial guard that had faithfully served her even before the Apocalypse, and which was now the commander of Sophia's regular army, respectfully saluted her.

"Your Highness"

"I told you many times, don't call me Your Highness," said Sylvia pretending to be annoyed. "Misurugi no longer exists."

"With all respect, my lady, maybe you can stop pretending to be the rightful ruler of this country, but I assure you that the people living here think otherwise."

"I just tried to survive. And to save the ones which could still be saved. "

"No, you have made more than that. You have brought together these people, you have given them hope, and you even managed to make them understand their mistakes.

These are qualities of a true leader. So, for us, you will always be Her Highness Sylvia I, Empress of Misurugi."

The girl sighed, concentrating on something else.

"If I may, Your Highness, who is the girl you brought with you?"

"Her name is Hilda. She comes from Enderant. She said that she has been separated from her mother shortly after the Apocalypse, when their village was attacked by raiders. They took her and brought to Misurugi, then the people of Dolkin freed her and took her with them. "

"I've heard really bad rumors about Enderant. The most complete anarchy reigns out there. Some cities have been able to reorganize and hold fast, but the rest of the country is full of human and Normas killing each other. "

"And if it goes on like this, I fear that soon the same thing could happen here."

Noting his lady's worried, almost captivated expression, Viktor frowned: something very serious must have happened to disturb even a strong and determined girl like her.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

Sylvia then told them what she had seen in Dolkin, shocking even one as strong and determined as Viktor, who very much like her in the past two years had seen firsthand the low point reached by mankind.

Yet, when the story ended, Sylvia noticed something strange in his elderly general's expression, as if that kind of stories wasn't entirely news for him.

"Have you already heard about this?" she asked.

"Beyond the mountains, towards Gallia. I thought it was just merchants' story tales. They spoke about small and large settlements decimated or disappeared in just one night. The remaining bodies were mummified, as if the killers drunk them all their organs. "

"This doesn't quite seem the style of common robbers."

"If the stories are true, I'm afraid that anyone could be the culprit except for common robbers. But what on earth can justify such savagery? "

Sylvia stood silent for a long time, while shivers ran through her back.

"We cannot do otherwise. We'll increase the alert lever. The watch must be in its place day and night, inside and around the settlement. "

"Yes, Your Highness."

"But please, be discreet. It is already hard enough to maintain the order, the last thing we need is uncontrolled panic. "

In that moment, shouts and yells came from the open window, and leaning the girl noticed a small crowd gathered in the central courtyard, in front of the building.

"Here we go." She snorted leaving the room, closely followed by her advisor.

...

When Sylvia and Viktor reached the center of the protest, it was already on the brink of turning into a brawl, and for some reason they weren't surprised when they found themselves in front of an brown haired young girl with dark skin and a fiery expression.

At her feet was a young woman, in a rather bad shape, that she had seemingly beaten using the crowbar in her hand.

Upon the arrival of the Commander, the second most common epithet that Sophia's inhabitants used to refer to Sylvia, the people immediately left an opening, leaving her and responsible facing one each other.

"I should have known that you were the responsible, Akiho" she said confidently, despite the fact that the girl was five or even six years older than her. "What is it this time?"

"It's time to end this!" the girl screamed angrily. "We humans are tired of starving while these Normas parasites and their useless relatives gorge themselves like pigs!"

"What is that supposed to mean? Everyone here receives the same rations, whether they are humans, Normas or Norma's relatives. "

"Lies! I saw it! I saw the attendants in the kitchen! They're all Normas! And every time they see another Norma, they fill her pot immediately! "

"If it's true, they'll be reprimanded. But to be honest I doubt it. I eat with you every day, and I've never, ever seen a plate filled more or less than mine.

I just think that this is you talking big as usual, coupled with your stupid fanatism that has no more reasons to exist.

You, me, all of these people. We are all Normas now. Rather, we are all humans. Human beings. Whether you like it or not. "

"Bullshit! Do not compare me to those parasites! You've never been caught by a Norma! I have experimented it on myself, and I know what they're capable of!" Just then in her eyes appeared such a deep terror that she looked as if she was going to wet her pants. "I saw their demonic eyes, their destructive madness, their evil belief to be right above anything. How can you say that the Normas are the same as us? This is beyond logic. "

"No," Sylvia said curtly. "The true fact that baffles logic is that, after all this time, there is still someone like you believing in those things.

And to return to the food problem, because this was the issue at hand, I repeat that this Norma favoritisms exist only in your head. But if you want to get some extra food and eat it on your own no one will stop you. "

"But you're the Empress! Our guide! Is not one of the duties of the Royal House to provide for all the needs of its people? "

"Provide for the needs does not mean to please all your whims. The time of milk and honey is over. Now if you want something you have to work hard for it, as it should be. Do you want to eat more? Grab a shovel and dig, or take a bow and go hunting, without waiting for food raining on you from the heavens. "

Akiho looked around, taking notice with fear that not only the Normas, but even those who till then seemed to agree with her, were now silently staring at her .

Having said that, Sylvia turned to go from where she had come from, and then Akiho lost her mind.

"You cursed Normas' friend!"

But she didn't have time to raise the crowbar, because Sylvia in a second was in front of her, hitting her so hard with his knee that barely a moment later Akiho was on the ground, throwing up everything she had in the stomach.

"I'm tired of your bullshit, stupid whore. If I find you making a mess again, I'll send you back in the hands of the same persons from which I saved you.

And then you will see how far can go the anger of many Normas that people like you have stirred up for centuries. "

At that point, Sylvia went, saluted with a respectful bow by all presents.

"It is the third time that she caused problems since she arrived," said Viktor walking a few steps behind her. "Are you sure it's a good idea to show such indulgence?"

"That girl has been sodomized, raped and almost lynched by the parents of certain Norma little girls that she denounced." she said almost sorry. "I want to give her a chance.

After all, she was also friends with my sister. "

"Friend !? I was there when she incited the guards to hang noble Angelise. "

"After I whipped her.

You are an exception, Viktor. You have seen the truth long before many of us. But I, she, and everyone else ... we were different. Monsters.

I promised to myself never to do the same mistakes. "

But then, Sylvia shook herself up, and Viktor almost struggled to recognize her.

"But you're right.

This is really the last chance. If she causes other problems I assure you that she'll be sorry. "

"Do you really mean to give her back to those who almost killed her?"

"There's no need to go that far. But I'll have her assigned to some hard work, and you can be sure she'll eventually calm down. "

"You always know how to be just but resolute, Your Highness. A most rare quality, even among the rulers. "

"Or maybe just very naive," she smiled. "Sometimes I think I should do like my sister, a bullet in the head and who cares."

...

Sylvia tried to take some sleep in the remaining hours of the night, but her rest, as well as short, turned out to be not easy at all.

Images, scary, of Dolkin appeared in the dream as ghosts from hell.

She could almost see them, those responsible of that carnage, attacking the village, burning houses, and drinking blood and organs of the inhabitants and of the animals, leaving behind nothing but destruction and death.

And the awakening was no better.

She had just managed to fall asleep, when the sound of the door slamming forcefully made her jump with fright.

"Your Highness," said Helen, her faithful maid since the old times, appearing in the doorway as white as a ghost. "You must come at once."

"What happened?" she asked, dreading the answer already.

A few minutes later, she was in the meeting room again, this time in company with her entire board of regents.

Besides Viktor, there were Mrs. Carmody, which in addition to managing the school was also responsible for the refugees, Mr. Stouble, representing farms and other agricultural activities around Sophia, and Rick, the young but very capable fruit merchant, who had become responsible for the food resources' management.

"We've heard it from the farmers arrived today in town for tomorrow's market," said Viktor. "And one of our patrols has confirmed it.

The village of Bodani, on the other side of the capital's ruins, has been attacked during the night.

We don't know who did it yet, but the stories of the farmers mention explosions, bursts of automatic weapons heard even at great distance and strange lights coming from the sea.

We tried to contact them by radio, but no one responded. At this point we have to assume that they are all dead."

All those present lowered their eyes.

"It may be possible that they could be common robbers?" asked Stouble. "Rather than those who attacked Dolkin?"

"We cannot rule it out. I have not found someone willing to accompany me to do some recon. But we should also keep in mind that with the destruction of the gang that was operating nearby there are no other groups that we know of on this side of the mountains.

But considering that the witnesses clearly speak of something that came from the sea, we cannot rule out the possibility of some gang coming from beyond the borders of Misurugi."

"But how could that be possible?" asked Mrs. Carmody. "Now that the mana is gone, with our current technology it should be impossible to navigate along the coast without being spotted."

"And certainly they didn't come from any other land beyond the ocean" said Rick. "For all we know the Apocalypse destroyed anything that could able to do such a thing."

"And what do you say about that strange vehicles used by the Normas during the war?" suggested Stouble. "If I remember correctly they didn't require mana to work."

"Considering Sophia's actual situation" remarked Mrs. Carmody sadly. "If the voice that the Normas might be responsible spreads we will have a general uprising."

"The Normas are not the only ones able to drive those things" Viktor cut her off. "The para-mail. As I said, there are no certain answers."

The Council members then turned their gazes to Sylvia, which seemed almost trying to shy away from them.

"Your Highness, I must ask you to consider the idea of abandoning the settlement, at least until we could establish the real nature of these aggressors."

"Leave Sophia !?" thundered Rick. "Are you crazy !?"

"He's right, Viktor" said Mrs. Carmody. "This settlement is the most protected of all Misurugi. Where else could we be safer than here? "

"It is clear that whoever is responsible for these attacks possesses a technology so powerful and destructive that it makes possible for him to wipe out entire villages leaving no survivors at all.

But we also know that it tends to attack only the big towns, where it can have many victims.

Sophia is well defended, but it is also a tempting target. If we stay here we are all potential targets."

"We'll be in danger even if we leave" replied Stubble. "At least here we have some defenses."

"That may be useless. The escape galleries are not ready yet. If the enemy attacks, there would be no way to escape. We would be trapped. "

"We stay." Sylvia murmured, her eyes looking the table and her fists strongly clenched

All ones, again, turned toward her.

"Your Highness ..." said Viktor

"It took two years to build this place, and I believe in its defenses. I will not risk the lives of all these people sending them into the fray looking for a deceptive security. "

"But ..."

"As long as we are here we have the anti-tank emplacements, automatic cannons, even anti-aircraft weapons. Out there we would have nothing but ourselves."

For the second time, when Sylvia looked up, not only Viktor, but all of her advisers almost didn't recognize her.

"We are not Dolkin, or Bodani. We are Sophia. We're the embryo from which the new Misurugi Empire will rise. And anyone who tries to attack us, will know that we are no easy prey! "

No one dared to object.

After all Viktor was the only one in that room to think that there was more hopes of salvation outside Sophia's, but he had served the imperial family for far too long to challenge his Empress's decision.

"As you wish." It was the only thing he could say.


	4. Chapter 3

**_Notes_**

**_Hi again!^^_**

**_I forgot to wright it in the previous chapters, but I want to pay you my best thanks for all your reviews and your suggestions, despite my terrible written english^^_**

**_However, fortunately, I've probably found a beta reader, so from now on I'll start to correct with more attention my chapters._**

**_Many Thanks Again!^^_**

**_See you soon!^_^_**

**_Carlos Olivera_**

...

3

That night too, Sylvia couldn't sleep, constantly turning in bed, unable to forget what had happened in that endless day.

She thought about Dolkin, about Bodani, wondering if she had really taken the right decision.

Sometimes she almost regretted to have taken such a weight on her shoulders.

She knew that she had in her hands the safety of thousands people, and although over the years she had faced many difficult moments that day's decision had been the most difficult yet.

In a way she trusted Viktor's opinion, but regardless to that she didn't want to risk all those lives in an escape into the unknown that could even turn into a death sentence.

The glare of a lighthouse clumsily handled by the operator entered through the half-open window, dazzling her and stripping her for good of any intention to sleep.

Woken up, she tried to take a walk to relax and make up her mind, so she went out in the yard.

It almost seemed a war zone.

The lights were scanning the dark sky in search for the faintest sign of danger, and both the balconies on the walls and the streets were full of soldiers.

By now everyone in the camp knew what had happened to the two neighboring villages, so such a deployment of forces didn't appear unjustified; on the contrary, some had found it even insufficient.

Even the two old tanks discovered a few weeks before among the ruins of the city, unable to move without mana but still able to shoot, had been laboriously brought in the central square to provide additional security.

Sylvia walked for a while, greeted with respect by the soldiers crossing her path, and then, passing next to dorm number six, she noticed a figure sitting on the parapet, the back against the net and the legs suspended in the void.

Intrigued and a bit worried she entered, climbing the stairs in silence to avoid waking the other people, and when she reached the roof she found herself face to face with Hilda, who like the first time greeted her with complete indifference.

"Hilda," she said, reaching her. "Don't stand there. It's dangerous."

The girl turned to look at her: obviously one night couldn't be enough to forget the horrors she had been forced to see. According to her story, a woman of the village had locked her in that basement immediately after they had felt the first explosions, so she hadn't seen anything, but she had clearly heard the people screaming in pain while they were "eaten", as some of them had shouted with their last breath.

Not being able to convince her to get down, Sylvia ended up sitting down next to her, and as she had done the previous night aboard the Bulldog she offered her one of those sugary candy apple she always carried with her.

Hilda accepted it, holding it for a long time in the mouth as to seek in its sweet taste a relief from all the bad things happened to her in the last days.

"You really like these candies, don't you?" Sylvia smiled

"My mom always prepared apple pie, everyday" she said looking towards the sea. "It was the best in all town."

"You'll find her soon, have faith. And when it'll happen, I'll be able taste her delicious cake. "

A surprised Hilda looked at her.

"Are ... you sure?"

"Of course. But tell me, apart from your mother, don't you have other relatives? A father or a brother? "

Again, she looked down.

"I have a sister. An older sister. "

"Really? Me too. "

"She's a Norma."

Sylvia winced, unwittingly evoking unhappy memories.

"I ... and mom ... have chased her away."

Tears, once again, came down from her eyes: but this time, were tears of shame.

"They told me that the Normas were inhuman monsters. And I believed it. But then, I've become a Norma myself. As anyone else.

We're all Normas now."

"The Normas don't exist, Hilda. They've never existed. "

"W ... what !?"

"There are many Normas in this camp. Honestly, tell me. Have you recognized them?"

Her gaze was more eloquent than any reply.

"The truth is that we are all human beings. But we wanted someone to hate, and so the one that ruled us chose the Normas to satisfy our need. The Normas never had anything different from us. We called them monsters, but the truth is that we were the real monsters. Because we believed what we were told without asking questions.

It is our fault if our world has been destroyed. If we've become such monsters.

But if we'll be able to leave behind our prejudices, to become better, then we'll manage to build a new world, where there will be no more Normas and not Normas, but only human beings, all free and equals."

Hilda started, finding the strength to smile after all that time.

"Do you think that one day I'll be able to see my sister again, to apologize?"

"Maybe. But you'll have to fight. Because no one gives you anything for free in this world."

"I will." She said with conviction.

Suddenly a strange whistle resounded in the air, accompanied by some distant noises, attracting both girls' attention.

Even the guards noticed it, focusing the spotlight in a single direction; the lights cones were barely able to illuminate a cloud of distant dark objects, which seemed to fly in that direction, and then a shower of small devices struck the field, causing repeatedly explosions.

One of the missiles struck right at the bottom of the dormitory, shaking mightily the building; Hilda lost his balance, but fortunately Sylvia grabbed her in time. Though, after the danger, the two girls' eyes remained astonished, petrified at the sight of Sophia inexorably beginning to burn, while in the sky, like a swarm of locusts, appeared tens of para-mails.

Most of them were all identical to each other, as manufactured in series, with only the color to differentiate them, but three of them were quite different: one was black, menacing, armed with a sickle and a precision rifle, another was vermilion red, wielding the standard armament with a sword and an assault rifle; the third one, a gray para-mail wielding battle gloves, equipped with five sharp claws, similar to a bear's nails, instead of a normal firearm it carried some six launchers behind its back.

The gray para-mail started the massacre, launching a second barrage of missiles; most of these pulled down some defensive positions, included one of the tanks, while the others destroyed some buildings, blowing them up.

In a few moments, panic exploded in Sophia.

Trying to escape, fleeing from burning buildings, all inhabitants poured into the courtyard, turning themselves into moving targets that the enemies immediately began to kill with their automatic weapons.

They were shooting wildly, regardless of who they killed; everything they wanted, at first sight, was to kill everyone.

Yet there was some sort of sinister precision in their actions; while the three commanders were occupied in taking down Sophia's defenses, their comrades pounced almost exclusively on civilians, firing against soldiers defending the camp only if threatened.

Taking Hilda in her arms, Sylvia rushed down the stairs, but when she reached the ground floor she was forced to cover the little girl's eyes in order for her not to see what had happened.

It looked like some sort of slaughterhouse.

The explosion that had started the attack had killed almost everyone, and even the few survivors were nonetheless letting out their last breaths, horribly mutilated and gutted.

But there was no time to stand still and look at that kind of hell.

Hilda at least, she thought, had to be saved.

Fortunately they were not too far from the garage, damaged but still intact miraculously, and entering from a back door she was relieved to see Ruka intent on starting up the Bulldog.

She hoped to drop Hilda to safety and to immediately put the vehicle in motion, but a nasty surprise was waiting for her.

"They are slaughtering us! What are you waiting for? "

"If you want you can try and push!" Ruka yelled back, appearing from under the vehicle with a wrench in hand and the face covered in black. "The explosion damaged the oil line, I have to fix it!"

Sylvia then could not help but bring Hilda inside the vehicle.

"Don't worry, I will return soon." she assured her, and, taking up an assault rifle from a dead soldier, she went back outside.

...

Meanwhile, things were rapidly getting worse.

When most of the defenses of Sophia had been destroyed by para-mails, two large transport aircraft that the Normas had managed evidently to convert to fuel, with a banner depicting a silver dragon inside a black shield stacked on the fuselage, flew over the field; the back doors opened, and about twenty soldiers, all Normas, equipped in battle suits with helmets and many various weapons, dropped down with parachutes, immediately starting to massacre all remaining civilians, shooting and burning everything.

Back to back, protecting each other, Ashley and Mayu were fighting a valiant but hopeless resistanc, together with the few soldiers still alive in the square in front of the gate, respectively armed with an assault rifle grenade launcher and a magnificent couple of old swords.

"Do not shoot randomly!" yelled Ashley, who among all was certainly the most experienced about those infernal machines. "Aim to the cockpit or the reactors in their back! Those are their weak points!"

"But who the hell are they?" asked Mayu after having managed to open her way through two opponents' guts, eviscerating the first and cutting the throat to the second

"I don't know, but one thing is for sure, they don't come from Arzenal! I've never seen these para-mails, and neither that coat!"

In that moment a para-mail, perhaps suffering from overconfidence, attempted to wipe them out by flying very low, but even if it managed to kill almost all the soldiers she exposed herself to Ashley's counter fire; unfortunately her grenade didn't destroy the vehicle, but exploding close to the thrusters it inevitably compromised its balance, and the para-mail, after having unsuccessfully tried to take off, fatally plummeted to the ground, suffering damage but remaining operative.

Without hesitation Ashley ran to it, climbing to the cockpit and opening it with the emergency command.

"Out of my way!" she yelled throwing away the dying pilot and taking his place.

It had been almost four years since she had piloted a para-mail, but like all Normas come from Arzenal she had such a symbiotic relationship with those machines that a single moment was enough for her to regain all her ability.

Mayu, who had stopped to look at her, was almost caught by surprise by a second para-mail, but Ashley fired first and managed to blow up the aggressor.

"Mayu, bring everyone out! I'll take care of these!" Ashley ordered, joining the fray.

The girl managed to shoot down a good number of the enemy para-mails, taking advantage on their surprise to see a seeming ally shooting them, but then the vermillion enemy rushed at her, revealing to be a far superior opponent both for her para-mail's qualities and for her own driving skills.

...

Not far away, a bunch of survivors, mostly orphaned children miraculously escaped with Mrs. Carmody from their dormitory's destruction, had barricaded themselves behind a collapsed wall, but their lack of preparation in using weapons was so great that the defenders, one after another, fell like mosquitoes under the enemies' precise shots.

"Damned cursed Normas!" kept on screaming Akiho, crazy in fear, while she was firing in all directions. "You must all die!"

A bullet, perhaps a lucky shot, hit her neck, but she was still alive when the silver para-mail descended above her, crushing her like an ant under its massive steel feet.

Mrs. Carmody watched in horror, trying to hide such a macabre spectacle to her children, but when the cockpit opened and the robot pilot appeared from inside she thought that she had the devil itself in front of her.

It was not even clear if it was a man or a female, with a very slender body, an almost flat chest despite the tight suit, short, tousled and silver hair, but especially that evil expression, marked by light and lifeless eyes, a small nose and a wicked smile.

"Well well, what do we have here? A stinking litter of little cockroaches. "

"Please, have mercy," said Mrs. Carmody, while the children huddled terrified around her. "These children have done nothing. They are innocent victims. "

"Old woman, where you think you are? There are no innocents in this war. "

"Many of them are Normas. Your fellows. And the others too, they bear no guilt for this senseless war."

So, bravely, the woman stood up, taking a few steps ahead and spreading her arms.

"Kill me if you want, but have pity on these children. Without them, there will be nobody to rebuild our world."

The Norma smiled even more mockingly way, and unholstering her gun fired without hesitation at Mrs. Carmody, hitting her in the forehead and killing her instantly.

"You should have asked for it since the beginning," she said blowing away the smoke. "Well, I would have done it in any case."

So, the woman brought her attention on the children, that could only stand still in terror to observe their dead teacher, clutching one another in an hopeless search for safety.

"Human cockroaches and Normas that have no right to call themselves in such way. It seems there's some cleaning up to do here."

To create an even more sadistic situation, she removed seven of eight bullets from her revolver, creating a perverse Russian roulette in which she randomly fired in the heap, waiting for the real shot.

She was about to take the sixth attempt, that she already knew to be the decisive one, when in a rocket hit her and her para-mail instead, slightly damaging the vehicle and almost throwing her out from the cockpit.

"Stay away from those children!" cried Sylvia throwing away her now useless rocket launcher.

Seeing her nice machine damaged and singed, the woman's face became a mask of madness.

"You filthy whore! How dare you hit my Lamashtu*!"

She immediately returned inside, before Sylvia could try to hit her again, and forgetting all about the children she began to chase after after her across the field, allowing Ruka to come in to help the children with the Bulldog.

"Quick, get inside!" ordered Mayu literally pushing the children inside the vehicle, while the Bulldog's weapons fired in every direction in order to pin down the attackers.

Eventually even the few soldiers still alive and rallied around the vehicle were killed; among them there was Viktor, who, seeing the attackers' massive number, gathered up the resolve for an extrme actions.

"Mayu, Ruka, take them out of here!" he shouted running towards the enemies.

"Viktor, stop!" said a desperate Mayu.

The man was hit one, two, five times, but his temper kept him alive, and only when he found himself among his assailants they noted the belt of grenades tied around the old officer's chest.

"Long live Misurugi! Long live Sylvia I!" he shouted before exploding.

At that point Sophia was hopelessly lost, and unfortunately there was no time to search for other survivors.

"Come on, Sylvia!" shouted Mayu.

The girl tried to lose her pursuer, but that one didn't want to let her go; on the contrary, she was clearly enjoying playing cat and mouse with.

"Run! Run!" the Norma kept screaming. "Nothing excites me more like hunting a little rat like you!"

Eventually, after a while, the pursuer decided it was time to end that, and charging her powerful steel claw she prepared to score the fatal blow; Sylvia was inches away from death, but with desperate strength the girl was able to crouch behind some rubble, which absorbed the greatest part of the blow. Nevertheless, the impact was still powerful enough to pulverize the thin shield and literally send the girl against another wall, leaving her motionless and unconscious.

"End of the line, baby."

Even Ashley was having her difficulties, because with all the other defenders of Sophia's death every single enemy was now concentrated on her, especially the vermillion one, surely the deadliest of them.

"I must admit it, I didn't remember it was so tiring," she said out of breath.

Fortunately the providential collapse of the main building came to her aid, because by collapsing into a shapeless amount of flaming debris it covered the entire field with an impenetrable cloud of smoke and dust.

At the same time Ruka, noticing what was about to happen to her commander, fired a missile against the silver para-mail, forcing her to dodge it and allowing Ashley to retrieve a still unconscious Sylvya and fly away while the Bulldog departed at full speed in the opposite direction.

"I don't know how, but we did it." Ashley said to herself noting that no one was chasing them.

Then she looked at Sylvia, which, enclosed in her para-mail's metal hand, seemed almost asleep.

"I must say, you have nine lives like a cat."

A shot, seemingly innocuous, but with incredible piercing power, hit her back, destroying both her arms when they were almost ten miles far from the camp.

"Sylvia!" shouted an astonished Ashley seeing her friend fall in the forest below them, surrounded by debris.

Another shot, equally accurate, destroyed one of the engines, and turning behind her using the telescopic sight the girl barely had time to see the black para-mail pointing her with its sniper rifle. Then a third bullet, the last one, hit the tank.

Moments later, the survivors aboard the bulldog saw a violent explosion light up the sky not far from them.

"This... This cannot be ..." cried Mayu. "Ashley ... Sylvia ..."


	5. Chapter 4

_**Note  
Here I am again!^_^  
This has been the most difficult chapter to write, but at last I'm quite satisfied.  
From now on I'll probably be a little more slow to post new chapters, because following a friend's suggestion I'll start a Gunslinger Girl Short Story, but I promise you that I'll try to be as fast as possible.**_

_**Thank you so much to all that ones that have added this story to the followers or the favourites, and obviously to all the rewievers.  
And yes, Mary's strange way of talk is not a coincidence: I took inspiration on Chaika from Hitsugi no Chaika!^^**_

_**See you soon!^_^**_

_**Carlos Olivera (on youtube, CJ Spencer)**_

**...**

4

Ruka continued to press on the accelerator to put as much distance as possible between them and the camp, while Mayu tried in vain to convince her to go back to look for Ashley and Sylvia.

"How can you be so calm?" she asked to Helen, noting her apparent imperturbability. "Your lady, Sylvia, could be dead."

"If that's true, crying and despairing won't bring her back to life," she said, turning her eyes toward the children grouped at the bottom of the vehicle. "Right now the priority is to save those children, which Sylvia, Ashley, Viktor and Mrs. Carmody have defended to the death."

Then her lips toke the form of a comforting smile.

"Anyway, I'm sure the young lady and Ashley are fine. After all they've been through in the last twenty months, it will take more than that to kill them. "

Unfortunately, the Bulldog had received only temporary repairs, barely enough to allow it to move, and after a few more kilometers it broke down again, forcing the group to stop.

"Cursed piece of crap!" yelled Ruka kicking it. "I thought that I designed you to overcome far worse situations!"

"Can you fix it?" asked Mayu

"Let's hope that I took all the necessary pieces." and she immediately began to work supported by a pair of mechanics.

The occasion also proved favorable to make a count of those who had managed to escape, and the results, in spite of everything, was quite comforting: orphaned children were nearly all present, and so many Norma and their families.

The point where the Bulldog had stopped, along a dirt road that headed north crossing the hillside that overlooking Sophia, was hidden enough to be a good place to stop, but also high enough to be able to see the field that, in the distance, was still burning, lighting up the night like a beacon.

Seeing that vermilion light getting up in the middle of nowhere, many of the survivors began to cry; they had managed to escape, but many of their friends had remained there, killed by those machines.

"I hate to admit it," Helen said, clenching her fists. "But perhaps what they said about Normas was not entirely wrong. What human being would be able to perform such a massacre? "

"Don't start a witch hunt, Helen" admonished Mayu. "Like you said, let's just try to stay alive for now."

"How did the count go?"

"In addition to children, we have twenty-five survivors with us. But perhaps someone else was able to leave Sophia in time. "

"I hope so," replied the maid looking toward the burning camp. "With all my heart."

...

Sylvia would never have thought that she would wake uo eventually.

When that silver monster hit her she already saw herself in the afterlife, facing all those who died that night paying the price of her ill-advised choice to stay.

Instead, even before her eyes fluttered open, she felt a pain throughout the body; the most visible proof that she was survived.

She felt damp grass beneath her, and something rough behind her back.

Struggling with her numbness, she finally managed to lift her eyelids, and felt a great astonishment when she realized to be in the middle of the forest, probably not too far from Sophia.

Probably someone had moved her, gently resting her against a leaning tree and putting some leaves under her head.

She tried to stand up, but her head was still spinning, and seeing herself surrounded by charred wreckage she wondered what on earth had happened: the last thing she remembered was that tremendous crash against the wall and the silver para-mail hanging over her, but she had no idea how she had gotten there.

She was trying to clear up her mind when she heard a noise on her left, and instinctively put a hand behind her back looking for the gun.

But she had no time to pull it out, because shortly after the last person one would have expected to see in a place like that appeared from a bush.

She was a little girl. She was ten, maybe even nine years old. She had the hair of a white lilac, almost silvery, the eyes large and blue, full of life, and delicate features, like a porcelain doll.

She was dressed in a simple way, with only a sleeveless white dress down to the ankles, almost a nightgown. At the foot she wore some sort of hospital shoes, also white, and she was awkwardly holding in hand, trying not to spill it, a wombat piece of bark full of water.

As she saw her, Sylvia immediately hid the gun behind her back, earning a puzzled look.

"Onee-san, awake!" said the little girl with a beautiful smile.

"O ... onee-san !?" said a disbelieving Sylvia.

By no means intimidated, the girl approached her, handing her the improvised pitcher.

"Taken for you. Drink. You'll be better."

Sylvia was actually very thirsty, so, despite that absurd situation, she accepted her weird savior's gift, letting the water come down her throat and relishing in the pleasant relief.

"Thanks," she said, receiving a smile in return. "What's your name?"

"I, Mary. And you?"

"My name is Sylvia."

"Glad meet you, Sylvia onee-san."

That child seemed the last person able to survive in a world like theirs, Sylvia thought, noticing her happy and innocent expression.

She certainly wasn't a survivor from Sophia, because she didn't remember to have ever seen her, but then the question was a very simple one.

"Mary, where are you from?"

"I come from the cradle."

"The cradle?"

"I slept. Long time. Then Eric onii-chan woke me. Now we travel north. He says I will be safe when we get to the north. "

"Safe from what?"

"I do not know. But he says many bad people want me. And so he protects."

"He's a good onii-chan then. He protects his little sister. "

"He's the best of all. He does _zac_, and then _boom_, and all the bad ones run away. "

Seeing her rudely mimic the feats of a brother who clearly loved her warmed Sylvia's heart, and for a moment she almost lost herself listening her stories.

Then, however, the memory of what had happened came back in strength, and she realized they could not stay over there.

"Onee-san, do not you get up," said Mary when she laboriously managed to get up. "You still weak."

"I have to reach my companions. And surely those para-mail are still looking for us. I cannot stay here. And you should get back to your Onii-chan. "

Then Mary, after a moment of bewilderment, looked down as mortified.

"I do not remember where is Eric onii-chan. I fear I lost ... "

An astonished Sylvia looked at her.

"You got lost!?"

"I saw light in the sky while onii-chan was sleeping. Entered into the woods and I found you. But when I went to get water, I realized I lost the way. "

Obviously it was not conceivable to leave her alone in the middle of nowhere, so Sylvia resigned herself to take the difficult decision.

"Listen sweetie, come with me," she said, lovingly caressing her head. "When I'll find my companions, I will help you regain your onii-chan. All right? "

She looked at her as puzzled, but then she nodded.

"Yes. Also Sylvia onee-san looks strong and good, after all. I trust you. "

So Sylvia took the child and started to walk toward Sophia; she knew they were going in the mouth to the enemy, but it was also the only way to see if someone else had survived.

...

Meanwhile, at the field, everything was now over.

The buildings had all collapsed devoured by the fire, and instead of what was supposed to become the new capital of Misurugi there was only a hell of fire and ash surrounded by a fence of red-hot plates; those walls should have been a defense for the people against external dangers, and yet, for many of them, had turned into a death trap.

The streets were a carpet of corpses: men, women, children and old men.

No one had been spared.

After the massacre, most of the para-mail had settled on the ground, with only a small group remaining to guard the perimeter, but it was only in that moment that the true horror had begun.

The three commanders landed next to each other in the central square, and the first to come down was the Norma piloting the black one. She was beautiful, with black hair and big dark eyes, yet in her eyes there was a cold, almost icy determination, enough to leave her indifferent to the macabre spectacle in front of her.

Instead the emotions coming from the emerald green eyes of the vermillion para-mail's pilot was completely different; she was apparently a little older than her two companions, she had a long, pink ponytail and a carved physical, almost as a model.

"The area is safe," said the black haired girl to the radio. "Start the harvest."

At that point the two cargos that had dropped the paratroopers landed, and about twenty Norma went down armed with a giant electronic syringe connected by a tube to some sort of backpack slung behind their backs.

One by one, they began to draw all the blood from the bodies, spearing them with their equipment and absorbing, besides from their blood, also all the other liquids, leaving behind nothing but skeletal and mummified bodies which were then burned by their comrades, equipped with flamethrowers.

At that sight, the pink-haired girl looked away, and some tears seemed to appear in her eyes.

"Control yourself, Jamie" scolded the black haired girl

"I can't believe that there's no other solution, Yuko. I mean ... we are killing innocent people. "

"You know full well that this is the only chance we have. It's the fate of us at stake."

"But ... to think of having to do such a thing ... what makes us worthy of being saved if we act like this?"

"Put it this way, it is a matter of life or death. True, we kill people, but this will save countless more lives. "

"Maybe, but what will be the price?"

Yuko then turned her attention to the silver-haired woman, intent on fixing hew own para-mail, looking decidedly displeased; the rocket's explosion hadn't been too serious, but it had caused a very evident dent and blackened the fuselage, as well as significantly damaging the right arm's maneuverability.

"That filthy whore will pay for this."

"It's your fault, Ingrid. Anyway, you have violated the orders again. Carry out the mission that has been assigned is one thing, but you shouldn't be such sadist. It is already shameful what we are forced to do, but joking about it the way you were doing with those children is beyond any common sense. "

"Did they have common sense when they destroyed our lives and made us into cannon fodder?" she cried angrily "Everyone reaps what he sows!"

"Commander Ingrid!" said one of the para-mail at her service coming back from a patrol. "I found some tracks heading to the north.

It must be that armored vehicle. "

"What!?" said the woman, maliciously smiling. "Perfect! Gather the others! "

So, remaining deaf to the calls of Yuko, Ingrid returned inside her para-mail, moving away at high speed followed by three of her companions.

"I'm going with her" Jamie said before going after her. "If that maniac unleashes herself, no one can stop her anymore."

"Good idea. At least sometimes she listen you. "

...

Aboard the Bulldog, the repairs were going rather slowly.

Mayu had ordered to stay silent and turn off all unnecessary lights, because although they were at quite some distance and well-covered, the risk of being noticed was still there, so apart the mechanics, some sentries and herself, all other survivors were back inside the armored vehicle, surrounded by darkness.

The children in particular were understandably upset, looking at each other searching for some consolation.

"Sylvia onee-chan will not come back, isn't right?" said a little Norma

"Don't dare to say it!" warned Hilda. "I'm sure Sylvia-sama is still alive! She will come back, without a doubt."

"But ... Mayu onee-chan said that she has fallen in the forest with Ashley onee-chan after that monsters hit them.

If so…"

"I told you, Sylvia-sama will return. I'm sure. She is much stronger than those heartless barbarians."

Meanwhile, outside, the situation showed no signs of improving.

"How much more time do you need?" Mayu asked for the umpteenth time. "We are too exposed."

"A few more minutes and we should at least be able to move," said Ruka without stopping. "Piecing together this monster again is not exactly the same thing as changing the spark plugs of a car."

Sylvia couldn't understand how it was possible, but after just a few minutes since she and Mary had started to walk, all the pain she had felt the moment she had woken up was almost completely gone.

Not to mention the wounds; for someone who, hearing Mary, had fallen from the sky, she had just some scratches.

But at the moment there were other priorities: the important thing was to find her companions.

Despite this, Mary was proving to be a very special person. Her simplicity was simply disarming, as if she weren't be able to realize the corrupt and hostile world where she lived.

"So," asked Sylvia. "Don't you remember anything? Your parents? Your house?"

"I don't remember anything before waking up in the cradle," she said dejected. "First thing I remember is Eric onii-chan's face. He woke me."

"I see. I'm sorry"

"You should not be sad. Me, not sad. Eric onii-chan is very good person. He said he leads me to other good people."

"Do you really care about your Onii-chan, don't you?"

"Knowing him recently, but I know that he is very good. He defended me so many times, but never killed anyone. He says that killing is bad thing. "

"It's a good point. Unfortunately, sometimes, kilingl becomes the only possible solution, although one would never want to do it."

"Eric onii-chan says he killed in the past, but has vowed never to do it again. And he is keeping the promise. "

They walked in darkness, guided only by the stars, and Sylvia was paying close attention to every little noise, for fear of seeing those infernal machines again any minute now. Therefore, when she sensed a flicker between some bushes beside the path, she quickly took the gun, bringing Mary behind her to keep her safe.

At the same time, however, another weapon appeared from the darkness, pointed against them, but recognizing its owner the girl's eyes widened in amazement.

"So you made it, too," Ashley said gritting her teeth before collapsing, exhausted.

The wounds all over the body and blackened clothes told that she had gone through a pretty rough time, but it was well known that much more than that was needed to kill off the indestructible Ashley Lescott, the only Norma in history who had managed to safely escape from Arzenal.

"I swear I'll never complain about the fights against the dragons anymore," she said while Sylvia was trying to help her. "Fighting other para-mails is completely different, damn it. "

"How do you feel? Can you stand? "

"Honestly, I wonder how I managed to survive. After the explosion the cockpit remained miraculously intact, but I went down like a meteorite. I managed to escape from that cursed trap just in time, then immediately after that what was left of the para-mail burned down to ashes. "

"I'm sorry that I'm not able to help you," said a mortified Mary helping her to stand up. "But I used all my strength to help Sylvia onee-chan."

"Don't worry. Our Ashley certainly won't die for such a thing. "

"Excuse me for the question, but who is this girl?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you another time. Now we have to find out if we can still save someone. "

"Mayu and the others managed to escape, and they shouldn't be too far away. Shortly before being knocked down I saw the Bulldog heading to the hill towards the north. "

"Then let's hurry. When the sun rises it will be better to be as far as possible from here. "

Then the two girls began to march.

The hills where, according to Ashley, the Bulldog was were not too far away, and in fact in just a few hours they managed to reach them, with only a few hundred meters to separate them from the old road that surely their partners had followed in order to try to pass the mountains.

They were about to start the final climb, when, like a bolt from the blue, a light appeared from the road just above their heads, uncertainly pointing first at the sky and then directly at the forest.

"What the..." Ashley swore, ducking to escape the light cone.

"I recognize it, is the Bulldog's beacon!" Said Sylvia. "Maybe they are looking for us!"

"Are they crazy !? In this way they'll be seen by those para-mails too!"

...

Hilda had finally managed to convince the other kids that Sylvia was alive, and that therefore they had to find them.

So, secretly, she and some of the others had climbed onto the bulldog's roof, and fumbling with the commands Hilda was able to turn on the huge lighthouse, pointing it not without some difficulty into the woods in search for a signal, a movement; anything that might be a sign of the presence of their leader.

As Mayu and others noticed it, they sweatdropped.

"What are you doing!" yelled Ruka climbing on it and literally ripping the lighthouse's cords. "Turn it off right now!"

"But we have to find Sylvia onee-san ..." Hilda tried to protest .

But it was too late.

A light so strong in a place dominated by darkness couldn't pass unnoticed, and when she saw it lighting up along the hill also Ingrid's eyes lit up with a sinister glow.

"Found you" she grinned. "Let's go!"

Like vultures on a carcass, in a few moments Ingrid and her three subordinates were on the Bulldog, who fortunately in the meantime was been fully repaired.

"All inside, quickly!" Shouted Ruka.

Ingrid was so excited and out of himself that a missile almost hit her, but fortunately Jamie managed to intercept and shoot it down with a precise shot.

"Ingrid, you're too close!"

"Get out of my way, they're mine!"

Meanwhile the Bulldog had started at full speed, firing at the same time all that it had in against its pursuers, but its size and the narrow road made it so slow that for Ingrid and there was no problem to keep it up.

"Normally I would have been excited to chase you, but this time I'm really angry!"

So, without wasting any more time, Ingrid immediately fired a pair of missiles.

"Go to hell!"

Fortunately the Bulldog was provided with an electronic system that immediately kicked in, producing an electromagnetic cloud that disturbing the missiles' signal diverted their trajectory; unfortunately, even out of control, the two devices continued their run in another direction, passing the vehicle and exploding on the road a little further, making it collapse.

Ruka managed to stop just in time, with the front wheels and the nose of the Bulldog dangling over the abyss, but at that point the only escape route was lost.

"End of the game, my dears."

"Do not exaggerate, Ingrid" Jamie admonished her. "We need their energy."

"We just need their blood, the fact that the bodies remain whole is secondary!"

Only one of the two phalanx still had some ammunition, but even though it managed to destroy one of the para-mails it was finally taken out by one of its two companions.

One of the survivors, in a panic, opened the door trying to escape, but Ingrid came over, stabbing him with both her metal gloves and lifting him up over her head. Then, she horribly butchered him, letting herself dip by a blood rain.

"Superb! Truly superb! There is no more beautiful color in the world than this! "

Ruka and the others could not do anything but watch in horror, knowing that it was the end.

Ingrid, still covered in blood, stood up, ready to strike the final blow.

"Die!"

At that moment, Sylvia, Ashley and Mary reached the road, but they were too far away to do anything, and neither Ashley or Sylvia had the necessary weapons to stop that beast.

So, all they could do was stand still watching helplessly.

But not Mary.

"Protect them, my light!" Shee shouted stretching her arm.

There was a sound, like some sort of whistle, then a flash.

And then, as if by magic, a giant circular barrier appeared between the Bulldogs and the para-mail, and Ingrid, completely caught by surprise, ran into it, finding himself trapped inside some sort of magnetic field.

«What… what the…» she exclaimed astonished

After having trapped her, the barrier in the same way rejected her, but not without causing such a powerful electric shock inside the para-mail to literally burn the right arm's mechanisms; then, as it had appeared, the barrier vanished, while a deathly silence full of amazement hovered in the air.

As the shield vanished Mary almost fell on the ground inanimatwe, but she was immediately caught by Sylvia.

"I can't believe it," she said. "This girl… has the mana..."


	6. Chapter 5

_**Author's Notes**_

_**I'm back!^_^**_

_**Sorry for this long silence, but I had countless things to do and very little time to write.**_

_**Fortunately this chapter was already in my mind, so when I finally managed to start it i worked very fast.**_

_**And with this, the first part of this story (the shortest), is officially over.**_

_**In those days i've been able to think about it, and I managed to create an hypotetical chronology for the story, that according to this will be divided in 5 great groups of chapters, each of one marked by a title.**_

_**Those groups will be**_

**_1 - Fragments (Concluded)_**

**_2 - Journeys (8/12 chapters)_**

**_3 - Pride and Treachery (4/6 chapters)_**

**_4 - Worlds in War (10/15 chapters)_**

**_5 - The fate of two worlds (6/8 chapters)_**

_**So, from now on, I'll start to re-count the chapters from 1 at the begin of every new section.**_

_**I think that's all.**_

_**Thanks again to all those ones reading this my work, you're great^^**_

_**See you soon!^_^**_

_**Carlos Olivera**_

_**...**_

5

The shock had been so powerful that Ingrid's para-mail was now completely powerless.

But despite this, they were all still too shocked and astonished to think anything else.

Sylvia was more speechless than anyone else.

More than two years had passed since they had been able to see the light of Mana with their own eyes, and the last thing they thought was to meet someone still able to use it.

But what they had just seen was, if possible, even more amazing, especially for Ingrid and her companions.

After all, the Normas' unique ability was to be able to completely undo mana's effects.

Yet, incredibly, the shield that Mary had created to protect the bulldog resisted, rejecting even the para-mail's attack, that in theory were as capable of defeating the mana as were their own drivers.

"This… cannot be!" Jamie said, focusing Mary's face on her monitor. "That girl ... Could she ..."

So, since Ingrid's para-mail was still temporarily out of order, she personally took control of the operation.

"Forget the armored vehicle!" she ordered at her three companions. "Take that little girl!"

The other three vehicles then moved to the attack, and this time there was nothing that Sylvia or the other could do to try to stop them.

But suddenly, a black shadow seemed to obscure the moon, and a moment later one of the three assailants, like magic, found itself deprived of one of its arms, and then apparently out of control fell on its two companions causing them to crash against the mountain.

"What the hell happened to you Tabitha, are you drunk or something?" asked one of her partners, Julia

"I have no idea, something hit me!" she said uselessly moving commands. "My guidance system is damaged! I've lost my right arm! "

The same scene repeated itself, almost identical, a second later, and this time it was the para-mail of the team's third member, Rosie, to find itself beheaded, immediately after seeing some sort of phantom with shining, bloody eyes, pass in front of it.

"My visual system is gone! I'm blind! "

"What the hell is going on?" thundered Julia before one of her two legs was severed, cutting off half of her driving force.

Only then the mysterious shadow, which in a few moments had managed to cut to pieces three para-mail, finally appeared, but in seeing him all the presents, beginning with Sylvia and Ashley, remained stunned.

Before them there wasn't another para-mail, but a young man barely twenty-five years old with black, disheveled but beautiful hair, dark eyes small and long and a cold expression, dominated by the chiseled physique of a soldier.

He was dressed in a simple, almost unkempt way, with a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt topped by a ripped rider jacket with fur collar. In hand, however, he held a beautiful and probably very ancient katana.

Sylvia and the others were astonished.

How was it possible for one man to deal with those deadly war instruments with a common, simple sword?

The stranger raised his head, almost voluntarily seeking for his opponents' eyes. It was then that all of them, without exception, seemed to recognize him, with the three cadets caught by such fear that Tabitha, by far the weakest of the group, wet her seat.

On the contrary in Ingrid's eyes, certainly the most surprised and astonished to see this strange individual appear, the light of madness appeared again.

"You ... It's you!" and without waiting for her Lamashtu, with the rare and unique ability to repair itself, to be ready to fight again, she charged the young man.

But she managed to make only a few meters, because suddenly the crimson para-mail came up behind her, masterfully catching her and stopping her attack.

"Stop, Ingrid! Do not do anything crazy! "

"Leave me! I want to kill him! I want to kill that bastard with my own hands! It is an opportunity I've been waiting all my life. "

Since Ingrid didn't want to listen to him, squirming like crazy in an attempt to break free, Jamie had no choice but to go the hard way, and, having uncovered one of Lamashtu's control panels, she tore apart the circuits providing power supply, leaving the para-mail immobile and without energy.

"You goddamn bitch! What the hell have you done? "

"To all the para-mails, suspend the operation! Withdraw immediately!"

And without thinking twice the four para-mail, although seriously damaged, immediately fled, taking with them Ingrid too, who till last kept shouting at the top of her lungs.

The relief that Sylvia and the others felt at seeing their enemies flee was immediately canceled by the sight of that young men, advancing threateningly towards her.

"Stop!" Ashley ordered him and aiming her gun at his head, but not eliciting any response. "One more step and I'll shoot!"

"Wait, Ashley. He saved us. "

"But didn't you see what he has done?"

In that moment Mary regained consciousness, and seeing Ashley with the gun aimed she immediately reached for her.

"Stop! You not shoot! He friend! "

"Friend!?"

The young man, now below the two girls, then raised his fist, imperceptibly hitting the child on the head.

"I've always told you not to get away while I'm sleeping, didn't I?"

"Sorry, Onii-chan. I saw Sylvia onee-sama in trouble, so I helped her. But then I lost, and ... "

"Onii-chan!?" repeated Sylvia. "But then ... you are ..."

"Yes. He Eric onii-chan."

"And who are you, if I can?"

...

At sunrise, when they were sure about the Norma's retreat, Sylvia and her companions returned to Sophia, but what they found was if possible even worse than what they had seen in Dolkin.

The result of two years of hard work, sacrifices and hopes was now a pile of rubble torn apart by explosions and blackened by fire.

And, once again, the bodies of the victims had been horribly desecrated, turning them into a mass of skeletal mummies without fluids.

Such a horrible sight was spared to the children, at least until it was possible to give some sort of burial to the corpses still enough intact to be moved; as for the others, nothing was remained than ashes.

Sylvia wanted to personally build the graves for all her council's members, and passing them in review one by one the girl, stopping in front of Viktor's, was caught by such a strong wave of emotion that even her steely self-control could not resist.

"It's my fault," she said clenching her fists. "If I had listened him. If I had evacuated the city, maybe..."

"It would have changed nothing, my lady," Helen said reaching towards her and plaving an hand on her shoulder. "They wanted our lives, and they would have taken them anyway. You have done everything you could to save as many people as possible, and I'm sure that they know it. "

Then the eyes of both girls turned toward the few survivors, each one standing in front the grave of a parent, a brother or a son.

"But now, the priority is to bring these people to safety. If we succeed, then those who didn't survive tonight will not have died in vain. "

"There is no place that can be considered safe," Eric replied appearing behind them. "At least not within fifty miles from the coast."

"At this point, I think you should give us an explanation," said Sylvia. "Who were those Norma who attacked the city? Because I have the strange sensation you know about them."

"You said it yourself. They are Norma.

Very dangerous and well equipped Norma."

"And where they come from? From Arzenal? "

"Where they come from isn't important. They cross the entire continent's cost searching for villages to exterminate. From Rosenblum to Mitsurugi, passing for Gallia, it's almost two years that they begun shedding rivers of blood.

You have been just the latest. "

"Why do they commit these massacres?" asked Ashley, coming near with Mayu

"I have no idea. But I had been warned about them. They said they would have chased Mary if they'd found out her existence, and now they have succeeded."

"Speaking of Mary, who is she really?" asked Sylvia looking at the little girl, currently trying to console the younger children who were crying in despair in front of their parents' graves like an older sister. "Some time ago I visited the royal palace's ruins, and I read Embryo's diary.

Now I know all about the truth that has been hidden to us for thousands of years, including the one regarding to the ability to use the Mana.

Why, now that Aura has been released, there's still someone capable of using it? "

"Don't ask me. I don't know what I could answer. I found her three months ago in a research lab in the far south of this country.

When I awoke her, she couldn't even speak. It was obvious that she had remained in that place for a long time. "

"I have the feeling that you didn't find that lab just for an accident."

The young man took some time to answer, looking down.

"It,was the King Hindenburg of Rosenblum to send me in search for Mary."

"King Hindenburg!?" blinked Sylvia. "Noble Misty's father!? So they're still alive?"

"Even after the mana's death, the King somehow managed to keep his kingdom safe. Twenty months ago, shortly after the Apocalypse, he contacted me, told me where she was and asked me to find her."

"Why?" Asked Mayu

"Hindenburg promised to give her protection and keep her safe, and only God knows how much she needs protection."

"What are you talking about?" Asked Helen. "You mean that little girl is in danger?"

"You have seen with your own eyes what she's capable of. A person still able to use the mana in a world full of people who would do anything to have a piece of that power is like a sheep among the wolves.

Since we begun this journey, all those who, for one reason or another have heard of her abilities, tried to kidnap her, and some of them are still looking for us. Only in a protected place like the Kingdom of Rosenblum she'll be safe. "

"Really !?" declared Ashley. "And who says that those pigs doesn't want that power for themselves like the others?"

"Currently the Kingdom of Rosenblum is the only nation that has been able to remain united and strong after the Apocalypse. They rebuilt their country without the mana, and without the mana they want to rebuild it.

The king, but especially his daughter, gave me their word. They'll held Mary with them within their kingdom until she'll be able to hide her powers, then she'll be left free to choose her own way.

This is the agreement they proposed to me."

Shortly after Eric went back to get Mary, and the four girls, left alone, spoke to each other.

"What do you think?"

"For me, he's hiding something" Ashley snapped. "Have you seen how angry those Norma were? That dude knows much more than what he said us, I'm sure of it."

"But he seems honest about willing to protect the girl" objected Mayu

"Maybe, but what about the others? If our world has became like this it's especially because Hindenburg and his folks. And now should I believe that such a snake has suddenly decided to be a hero?"

"If we only trust the king's word, I would have some doubts, too," Sylvia replied after a brief moment. "But the noble Misty has always been a good person. Even when the truth about my sister has been revealed, she never ceased to admire her."

So, in her eyes seemed reappear the light of determination.

"And if she made this promise, then it must be the truth," and having said this she walked toward Eric, facing him almost in a challenge. "How about making this journey together?"

All the presents, and especially her companions, jumped for the surprise.

"But what the hell your doing?" He asked Ashley

"I travel alone." coldly replied Eric

"There are about nine thousand kilometers between this country and Rosenblum, with two nations in the middle, Gallia and Enderant. Moreover, judging from what I understand, even the Norma that have attacked us will hunt you now that they've found you.

Do you really think to be able to protect Mary until you'll be able to bring her back? "

The young man hesitated, scratching his head, clearly unsure.

"Why would you want to embark on such a journey?"

"Funny, I was about to ask the same question." Said Ashley yet

"Those monsters have destroyed the village that we had built with so much effort, but Mitsurugi is not dead yet.

But now I know I cannot do it alone. I need help. And if Hindenburg was really able to rebuild his kingdom, then he is the only one who can help me to do the same thing here.

I want to meet and talk to him. "

"Are you sure about it, my lady?" Asked Helen. "It's a very long journey."

"But it's the only thing left to do for me, if I want to save my kingdom. We can help each other. We have a vehicle to speed up the journey, you have your skills. Only working together we will have a hope.

If you really care for that little girl's safety, you have to admit that's not a bad offer. "

"You have seen for yourselves how dangerous it can be. Now that they've found out where we are, the Norma too will hunt us, and they're lethal opponents. "

"Do not underestimate us. At a first look we might seem just helpless girls, but we didn't survive during the last two years only for our pretty faces.

And the Bulldog as well.

Right, Ruka?"

"Sure," she said coming out from under the vehicle. "And wait to see the new upgrades. When I'll have finished, I challenge any Norma bitch to try and face us!"

Eric seemed on the verge of agreeing, but at that point was Mayu to raise some doubts.

"But ... all these people ... The children ... we cannot leave them with those Norma around here, and there's no way they could face such a journey."

"Not to mention the supplies that we should carry with us," said Ashley. "The Bulldog is big, but not huge. How could we bring more than thirty people to Rosenblum? "

"There is a village in Gallia, not far from Mitsurugi's borders," said Eric. "It is well protected and very hospitable. I've been there a few months ago.

If we bring the kids and the civilians there, they will be safe. "

This time it was Sylvia to weight the offer, but in the end, smiling satisfied, she offered her hand to Eric.

"We have an agreement," she said, receiving a barely noticeable shake in return.

Shortly after, Ruka took the Bulldog inside the only shed still standing, where she remained until nearly sunset, and when it came out again the girls were barely able to recognize it.

"But ... what have you done to it!?" said a speechless Sylvia

That mad scientist wannabe had replaced the destroyed weapons with the destroyed tanks' turrets, one in the front and one in the back, as well as providing a supplement for the armor protection and various light weapons.

"You have true golden hands." said Ashley satisfied, which in turn had spent the day to recover as much weapons as possible together with Mayu.

"Now I'd really like to see those bastards try and face us again."

At that point, it was time to leave for good, and as they were descending for the last time the narrow lane leading to the village Sylvia and the other couldn't avoid to feel some sort of black melancholy.

Farewell to the patrols in the region; farewell to that mirage of peace.

Mitsurugi was probably destined to fall back into anarchy without them and without the reassuring light of Sophia, but with the help of the heavens, from the disaster that had cost thousands of lives could arise the seeds of a new renaissance.

It was all in their hands.

...

Far from Mitsurugi's coast, missing in all the maps or charts, there was an island, long and narrow, shaped like an hourglass, dominated on all sides by towering cliffs, except for a tiny portion of beaches at the foot of the mountain that, rising like an almost perfect cone, entirely occupied the northern area.

Even before the Apocalypse any ship or aircraft were absolutely forbidden to cross those waters or enter the air space, moreover it was impossible in any case considering the incredible defensive system that protected the island, made of underwater mines, anti-aircraft positions and an impenetrable radar system.

Reunion.

That was its name.

Even more than Arzenal, it was certainly the most mysterious, secret and well protected place of the planet; however, if the existence of Arzenal was a truth known only to a small group of people, there was nobody in the world who had never heard a single word about Reunion.

All that went in Reunion, stopped in Reunion, and died there. No one who ever set foot was allowed to return to the outside world, regardless of being Norma or human.

Refineries and power plants supplied fuel for the para-mail and energy for its gigantic base, greenhouses, farms and tanks provided food and water; even the metal and any other building material was produced locally, thanks to rich deposits located in the heart of the mountain, making the island a completely independent community.

When Jamie, Ingrid and the rest of the expeditionary force sent to the mainland returned, they found a large group of technicians and mechanics waiting for them in the hangar, led by a young woman with black hair and dark-skinned, typical of the Verda's people, that, seeing the poor state of some of the para-mail sent on mission, could hardly believe her eyes.

"But what did you do to reduce them like this?"

"I must talk to the Commander, now!" Said Jamie coming out from her para-mail.

She kept looking at her until she disappeared behind one of the access gates, then, as transport vehicles landed themselves, she nodded at her staff.

"Quickly! Enter this harvest in the circuit! " she ordered, and the ones rushed to unload some huge metal drums, connecting them to some large semi-transparent tubes emerging from the walls and within which, in a few seconds, began to flow a red substance and dense.

"But what the hell happened?" asked then the black-haired girl to Yuko bringing her a bottle of water. "They said it would be an easy job."

"The Reaper" stammered Julia with her eyes bulging and a certain place of her suit curiously wet. "We met the Reaper."

"What!?"

At that point the black-haired girl froze, turning back to Yuko.

"But ... is it the truth?"

"Yes, Lavinia. It was Eric. Or that's what Jamie and Ingrid say."

"Oh, my god. So he's alive."

"And he was not alone."

...

The Supreme Commander of Reunion, Alexia Asgard, was by far the most mysterious, and somewhat fascinating person of the entire island.

It was said that she had been born and raised in Reunion her entire life, but nevertheless she had a knowledge of the outside world and its rules almost inconceivable for someone that, listening to the stories, had never known another world outside the island.

Few people knew anything more about her, while for younger Norma she was some sort of model, an example to follow even in the most desperate situations; she had held the community together with an iron fist, guiding it even in the apocalypse's aftermath in that dangerous, and somewhat ungrateful mission, for which she had personally selected the stronger, most resolute and determined recruits at her disposal.

When Jamie opened the door of her room, as usual she found her intent on masterfully playing the violin sitting at one of her elegant living room's chairs, her eyes closed and a serene expression.

Her short white hair, falling on his shoulders, elegantly surrounded her oval face, while the physique, slender but well proportioned, dominated by a generous but not excessive breast, made her resemble more like a model than a soldier.

"Commander, Eric has reappeared in Mitsurugi."

"Eric?" Said Alexia without stopping. "I would never thought that I would hear this name again."

"And there's more, My Lady. We found the Grail. "

The music stopped abruptly, throwing the room in eerie silence, and Alexia, standing up, glared at Jamie with her large and deep eyes, two blades of ice; some said the heterocromya was further proof of the Commander's uniqueness, and undoubtedly it added an extra touch of mystery to her figure.

"Are you sure?"

"I saw it with my own eyes, Commander."

"Call for the others. Immediately. "


	7. SECOND PART - JOURNEYS

_**Author's Notes.**_

_**Hi again!^_^**_

_**I'm back.**_

_**And as I said in the previous notes, the second part of the story begins now. For now there's only a little anticipation, but the first new chapter will arrive soon, I promise.!^_^**_

_**See you soon!^_^**_

SECOND PART

JOURNEYS

_The blow that the Vilkyss received had been much more severe than expected, so much that some systems had gone on the fritz._

_Instead, Sylvia's ragna-mail had not suffered any damage at first glance, and the girl, back in her own vehicle, had again charged against her sister, engaging her in a vicious hand-to-hand combat._

_"Why are you doing this?" asked Ange trying, with difficulty, to resist the onslaught._

_"Even if I explained it to you, I doubt that you would be able to understand," replied Sylvia cooly. "After all, it would be too much for you. Now this is your world, and whatever happens in our own is not your problem, am I right? "_

_Meanwhile Task was able to regain partial control of his para-mail, but when he tried to go to his companion's rescue the guy in black, as fast as lightning, appeared again in front of him, crashing down from above and attempting to cut him in half._

_The boy defended himself with his sword, but although it was fifty times bigger than the enemy's katana it was nonetheless cut in two as if it was made of cardboard, and producing such a powerful shockwave that his para-mail was hurled far below, up on the sea surface._

_"Damn!" cursed Tusk trying to regain control for the second time._

_When he lifted his gaze his assailant was there before him, standing over the dead body of a dragon left to float on the surface, the bloodied katana in his hand and the eyes firmly pointed towards him, barely visible over the helmet visor._

_Their gazes met, and in that moment Tusk felt a chill, his hands tightly clenching around the commands, visibly trembling._

_He couldn't believe it._

_It couldn't be true._

_"You ..." he stammered. "You're alive?!"_


	8. Chapter 2 - 1

**_Notes_**

_Hi my friends._

_First of all, i want to ask sorry to all of you._

_One year. Much more than tolerated for a fanfiction to be upgraded. Many times I tried to publish this new chapter (which was half-ready since almost six months), but at the end I always ended up to do somehting else, and this is a not tolerable thing, so once again sorry._

_By the way, with this chapter we finally enter in the second part of the story, "JOURNEY", which will speak about Sylvia and the others' travel to reach Rozenblum to hide Mary from the misterious Norma and obtain a strong enough force to protect what remains of Mitsrurugi against the same menace._

_Since this story has been silent for a very long time, I'll add a little legend of the main characters involved in this story till this moment, so you'll not have to come back in search for them in the previous chapters._

_See you soon^_^_

_**Legend**_

_**Sylvia Mitsurugi:** Ange's little sister, she's actually 15 years-old. After the Mana's disappearence, she created a little community of survivors among the ruins of the old capital, leading it firmly but fairly. When her town is attacked by a misterious group of Norma coming from the island of Reunion, and almost the entire population slaughtered, she joins to the few survivors in a dangerous journey to reach the north of the continent and obtain Rozemblum's help in protect her kingdom._

_**Ashley Asterald:** A Norma (20 years old), and the sole one in history which has been able to complete an escape from Arzenal. She's a pro warrior both in melee combat and with firearms, and despite a lot of time is passed since she left Arzenal she's still very capable in driving a para-mail. She's been saved by Sylvia briefly after the Apocalypse when she was at the point of starve, and for this she has swore to protect her till her debt will be payed_

_**Mayu Sayonji:** A Human (19 years old), she's an exceptional warrior, trained for years by her father in order to become the perfect swordmaster. She was a member of the Shadow Knights, the secret order entrusted to protect Mitsurugi's Imperial Family, and for this she's extremely loyal to Sylvia._

_**Helen Kitami:** One of Sylvia's personal maids, the sole one survived to the Apocalypse: she's 18 years old. She knows how to use a weapon, but she wants avoid fighting if possible, and always prevents Sylvia from become excessively cruel. She's entrusted with the care of Mary._

_**Ruka Mahadani:** A mechanic from Verda (26 years old), she was working in Mitsurugi when the Apocalypse happened. After having been found by Sylvia she joined her community, using her skills to project and build the armored vehicle known as the Bulldog (similar to the "Land of the Dead"s Dead Reckoning), of which she's also the pilot. Cheerful and energic, she loves to smoke._

_**Hildagard "Hilda" Schlievogt:** Hilda's little sister (10 years old), she's been divided from her mother after the Apocalypse. After having been kidnapped by a band of bandits she's been saved from the inhabitants of the Mitsurugi's village of Dolkin, where she remained to live with an adoptive mother. When Sylvia and her companions arrive to Dolkin, they find her as the sole survivor of the Norma's assault. She now travels with the girls in the hope to reunite with her mother._

_**Mary:** A mysterious little girl appeared from nowhere shortly after Sylvia's escape from her destroyed settlement. Gentle and kind, she doesn't remember anything of her past. She's been find by Eric in a research center in southern Mitsurugi, and since then the two had travelled together in order to reach Rozenblum. Contrarily to all other people, she's still able to use the Mana, and her power is so great that it can hurt even the Norma. Her code name is "The Grail"_

_**Eric:** A mysterious warrior, entrusted by king Hindenburg of Rozenblum with the mission to recover Mary and take her to Rozenblum, when she'll can be kept in safe from the Norma's attempt to capture her. He's an extremely skillful swordsman, with exceptional and obscure powers which make him able to surpass the common human limits. In his first appearence he proves to be able to pierce and destroy even the biggest para-mail with just a simple katana. Among the Reunion's Norma is known as "Eric the Reaper", or simply "The Reaper"_

_**Alexia:** The Commander of the Reunion's detention center, a second secret island populated by detained Norma. After the Apocalypse, for an unknown reason, she has ordered to her warriors to attack the cities along the coast, exterminate the inhabitants and absorb their fluids, which are subsequently inserted into a mysterious mechanism in the Island's underground._

_**Yuko, Jamie and Ingrid:** The Three Generals of Reunion's army, they're the ones that perform the attacks against the humans to steal their fluids. Yuko pilots the sniper-unit Lucifer, Jamie the Mid-Range-unit Mantis and Ingrid the melee-unit Lamashtu. All three of them know "Eric the Reaper", but if Yuko and Jamie are scared from him Ingrid at the opposite dreams to kill him._

* * *

1

Besides Jamie, also Yuko and Ingrid were called in the Commander's office, and all three provided to Alexia a detailed report of what had happened them in Sophia.

«I waited this day for a very long time» Alexia said when the report ended. «At this point, the Grail's capture is our priority. No matter how, but that little girl must be brought here as soon as possible.

She may be our last hope.»

«But as should we do with Eric?" Jamie asked. «He's not the kind of opponent we can face.»

«Leave that bastard to me» said Ingrid. «I'll turn him into pieces.»

«Do not be so full of yourself,» Yuko warned her. «Or have you forgotten what it is capable of already?»

«It's true, he's dangerous, but not invincible.» Alexia said «He hasn't probably taken the dragonium since the day he left, which means that his powers are now much lower compared to the past.»

« If you'd have seen him, you wouldn't be talking like this. » said Jamie.

«Whatever happens, we cannot do otherwise. From this moment the mana recovery will be entrusted to the other girls. Your job is just to find the Grail. You will have fuel, transports, rations and alle the weapons you need, and you can choose whoever you want as your companions, but do not come back to Reunion without that little girl.»

* * *

At that point the three girls left after having saluted their Commander, each of them with a different glance, taking the corridor that leaded to the refectory which was some sort of meeting place for the entire island.

«Do not come back without that little girl,» protested Yuko. «It's easy to talk for her. Almost all ones here have never tried something different from a flight simulator, so how could they hope to face Eric?»

«Do you have someone in mind?» Asked Jamie

«Francesca, Perrine and Lynne. They are the only ones expert and crazy enough to deal with that kind of monster.»

«But we have no idea where they are heading.» said Ingrid

«To the north,» Jamie suggested. «It's the only way they can take to leave Mitsurugi.»

«This means that we'll have to search along every single road and route which heads to the north. Sooner or later we'll find them.»

When they reached the refectory Jamie noticed an apparently twenty years old girl sitting alone in a little table, with not too long brown hair which partially covered her cute face and generous curves, which however she was almost try to hide under the dress to avoid being noted.

«Sorry, I'll be right back.» she said to her friends, and after a moment of uncertainty she approached the girl, finding her busy in look the photo of a young woman very similar to her secured inside her pendant in a very sad way.

«Commander!» she jumped noting of being watched.

She tried to stand up to salute her, but she was so awkward that she almost fell, and then Jamie invited her to stay quiet.

«You look thoughtful, Meyko. Is there something wrong?»

She looked at her for a moment in disbelief, and then she turned again to her big yellow eyes to the photo.

«Is it true what I heard?»

«Yes. Eric has appeared once again.»

«I thought he was dead.»

«We were all thinking it.»

Meyko at that point closed the pendant, grabbing it tightly in her hand while she turned back to Jamie with a fierce glance.

«Please, let me go with you. I want to make him pay for what he did to my sister.»

Hearing that request, however, Jamie replied by gently placing her hand on Meyko's head, making her blush.

«You're not made for such things.»

«But ... Commander ...»

«Do not misunderstand. I don't doubt of your courage or your skills. But if this world still has a hope of salvation, there must be the ones like you to rebuild it. Then, for no reason your hands must be covered with blood.»

«Commander…»

«Your task is not to kill but to rebuild.» and saying that Jamie went off, followed with the eyes by the young Norma.

* * *

Cause to all the damages suffered by the para-mail, the team selected to hunt down the Grail needed three entire days to be ready.

Alexia had given them almost everything: in addition to six brand-new para-mails, modified and improved right for the occasion, there were fuel, spare parts, ammunition and various types of additional weapons, all of them carried on two big helicopters ready to depart along with the squad.

Perrine, Lynn and Francesca had never taken part to one of the expeditions against the settlements along the coast, but nonetheless Yuko and the others had no doubt about their reliability for that job; they had experience, skills and cold blood in abundance, and more important they were not afraid to deal with Eric, for the simple fact that all three had more than one reason to want his death.

«What are you doing, Amanda?» Jamie asked seeing the dark girl jump aboard of one of the two transport units with a full staff of mechanics.

«Considering that you cannot go back to Reunion until you'll have completed the mission, I would say you need an expert mechanic. The commander told me keep an eye on you, so here I am.»

Before departure, Yuko spent one last time reviewing the three chosen one, which were standing at attention right next to each other.

Perrine was the one with less experience among the three, but only because she was the only one to have known a life far from Reunion in her first years. Nonetheless he was nicknamed the Blonde Demon, and although her favorite passion was going around asking for morality and respect of the rules it was said that many girls had known her bed.

At a first glance Lynn could appear to be anything but a danger, with those gentle face, the slender body with generous shapes and the brown silky hair; if it hadn't been a Norma, she would have been able to become a famous actress.

Francesca, however, was, and she had always been, the perfect portrait of pure apathy, at the point that the other girls of the base had fun keeping track of the time that they had heard her speak. Black and flowing here was the frame around an icy, expressionless face, and even if there was even a fan club of her no one was able to remember ever having seen her try to take advantage from her gorgeous body. Since she was born she had never known the world outside the island, and among the three she was certainly the most reliable.

«I will not cheat you,» Yuko told them. «You know very well the kind of opponent we are going to face.

In any case, I have no doubt that each of you will put all of herself into this mission, if only because you're very well aware of the stakes.

I expect that your duty with no hesitation, am I clear?»

«Yes, ma'am,» the three answered in chorus.

The six girls then reached the respective para-mail, and how even the airships were ready to depart the entire squadron took off, regrouping in defensive formation and departing immediately at full speed toward the continent.

* * *

After three days of travel, the bulldog and its crew were about to cross the mountain range that signed the border between Mitsurugi and Gallia.

Theoretically where was no need of such a long time to travel between Sophia and the frontier, but the trip had been slowed down both by high number the crewmembers and the need to stop in each settlement too close to the coast to warn them about the Norma's danger.

Fortunately, except a couple of failed attempts, the majority of the small agglomerations and villages that Sylvia and his companions had found along the road accepted to listen for their warning, immediately accepting to leave for the hinterland, even at the cost of sacrificing the few things they had.

Even that unusually bit village accepted their help, and Ashley and the others' aid the villagers were ready to evacuate in a couple of hours.

«You need to go as far as possible from the coast,» Sylvia told to the village chief. «The more you go west, the most you will be safe.

I will try to return as soon as possible with weapons and reinforcements.»

«We do not know how to thank you, Your Highness,» said that umpteenth that gentle old man with big respect. «Thank you for having warned us.»

«One more thing, please. Can you tell me the shortest way to cross the mountains and reach Gallia?»

The old man and his wife looked at each other in perplexity.

«Theoretically» said the old lady. «The shortest way would be the Sleepy Hollow, but ...»

«But recently some gangs of bandits have set a camp inside it» continued her husband. «They assault the convoys and kill anyone crosses it for a bunch of supplies. It's a bit of time that no one dares to pass through there.»

«Are there no other roads?»

«Well, here, it would be Grenview Pass, but it's quite far from here, not to mention that it's quite dangerous. The road is really narrow, and your vehicle...»

«Never mind, still better than the bandits. Now go.»

«Thank you. Thank you for everything, Your Highness. God bless you.»

So while the villagers were running away, Sylvia called everyone around the bulldog once again, ready to leave.

«Are you sure it's worth it?» asked Ashley helping her to get up. «I mean, three or four bandits shouldn't be a problem for us.»

«I will not take any unnecessary risk, not to mention that we do not know the enemy's force. Our purpose is just to reach Rozemblum as soon as possible.

So now, everyone on board. We depart immediately.»

«Yes, ma'am.» the girl jokingly replied.

Then, shortly thereafter, also the bulldog left, leaving behind only a settlement on flame, so to not leave anything to possible robbers.

* * *

Unfortunately Sylvia and her companions couldn't be aware of the fact that the bandits which was terrorizing the convoys between Mitsurugi and Gallia had recently diverted their attention from Sleepy Hollow to the Grenview Pass, less frequented but where at the opposite was much more easy to prepare an ambush, with that narrow road sandwiched between the forests and the cliffs.

Their leader, Dorian, was a guard of the nearby prison of Alamut before the Apocalypse, and like many others he had seen in the sudden disappearance of the mana an opportunity to show off his true nature, turning from an inflexible and sadistic soldier, but respectful of the rules despite everything, in a psychiatric problem, able to slaughter anyone for mere pleasure.

Paradoxically, among the members of his gang there were also many of the criminals and cutthroats that he had surveilled for a long time as a guard, and that once again they were at his mercy, cannon fodder to throw in the battle with no problems.

But they were not alone.

Recently in fact the party used to travel in company of a little girl, probably fifteen years old, constantly locked in a special wooden cage like an animal; her clothes, even if soaked in mud and dirt cause of the long jailing, were surprisingly well made, and with a very curious and unusual shape, while her dark-blue hair perfectly done in two long tails gave her a martial aspect.

Like every evening, a gang member went to take her something to eat, throwing in front of the closed cage a smelly and disgusting portion of meat that she doesn't even took the trouble to look.

«Sorry boss, is it really necessary to take freak with us?» that bandit asked coming back close to the bivouac. «She creeps me every time I look her.»

«Are you crazy?» Dorian replied caressing his straw-colored mustache. «Things like her worth like a treasure. If we find the right buyer, we'll have enough money for the rest of our life.»

«But it's been a long since we moved here,» objected another one. «And it's almost two weeks that we don't have someone to assault.»

«Trust me, it's just a matter of time. If the news about the attacks against the villages are true, soon a nice bunch of yokels will begin to cross the mountains in an attempt to reach Gallia, or what remains of it. And of course we'll be here waiting for them.»

They were all so half-drunk that none of them had noticed that their prisoner, noting the presence of a large and curved bone between her supposed dinner, had surreptitiously recovered it.

She could have wait until most of them were asleep, but the thirst for freedom was too big; so, taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching her, she slipped the tip of the bone in the lock and begun to silently work on it, constantly looking behind her to avoid bad surprises.

She needed many attempts, but finally the lock cracked, and the girl, walking low, was finally able to feel earth under her feet after an incredible period of time.

But the legs were soft, the muscles weakened for the long captivity, and when she tried to get up she almost fell, and the branch which she grabbed to remain on foot broke, making more noise than necessary.

«Hey you!» Dorian shouted noting her, and immediately sending all of his men behind the prisoner. «What are you doing here, fucking jailbirds? Run behind her!»

* * *

Not far from there, along the road which passed along the pass, Sylvia and her companions had stopped at the end of a long day of journey, and also taking advantage from the peaceful evening they had prepared a makeshift table in front of the bulldog, finally taking a dinner worthy of this name for the first time since they left Sophia.

Despite everything, the atmosphere was quite cheerful, and for a moment the girls almost forgot the situation in which they had come to find, alone and lost in a world in decay.

The only one to miss this unusual cheerful atmosphere was Eric, who a few hours after the departure from Sophia had fallen into a sleep from which hadn't awakened yet since that time.

«He's still asleep,» said Mayu returning to the table after having gone to check

«I'm starting to consern,» Sylvia said. «He's sleeping since almost four days.»

«Onii-chan, strong," Mary said while biting a piece of cheese. «But strength make him tired. When fight, he tires a lot, so he needs sleep.»

«His skills are undoubtedly beyond common humans,» said Mayu. «But after all he's still a man. I wonder how he can do what he does.»

«Mary, it's been you to provide him such powers?» Ashley asked

«No, no. Onii-chan already strong before meeting Mary. He tells he special. No human being.»

Ashley had seen the most absurd and incredible things during her life as a fighter to Arzenal, yet Eric's prodigious skills were a mystery even for her; and as a good Norma, she had learned to be suspicious about anything that couldn't be understand or explained, some sort of self-defense.

A strange noise coming from the forest dragged her and all the others out from their own thoughts; someone was running in their direction.

«What was that?» Helen said

«Ruka, turn on the headlights!»

The dazzling lights lit up the trees all around, just in time to reveal the slender and dirty figure of a little girl that came out from the forest and run toward the group, throwing herself into the arms of the first person who happened to meet, which was Ashley; touching her, the Norma had that strange feeling once again, but this time it was much more stronger, so as to make her bones tremble inexplicably.

«Help me, please! They're chasing me!»

A few moments later a group of much more threatening men appeared from the forest, and the two groups found face to face. Seeing them the newcomer grabbed Ashley stronger, and this for Sylvia was more than enough to have a bad impression of that sinister group of brutes.

«What do you want?» she asked

«Give us back that girl, sweetheart!» one of them menacingly shouted

«Which what title?»

«The title of this!» and he immediately raised his machine gun.

His companions, but the girls too, did the same, and everything turned into a dramatic Mexican standoff.

Unfortunately a couple of the bulldog's operators were still inside of the vehicle, so in the blink of an eye the bandits will found themselves with also a couple of tank cannons pointed against them.

«Don't try it.» Sylvia threateningly said.

A hilarious laugh broke the dramatic silence which had fallen in the area, and after a while Dorian appeared from the trees while clapping to the princess.

«It was time for this nation to finally be ruled by someone worth of the title.» he said placing himself between his man and Sylvia's. «It's a pity that unfortunately there's not a nation to rule anymore.»

«You're the bandits that are assaulting the convoys in the last months, right?»

«What a bad way to print us. We're simply… adapting to this new world. After all, adaptations is the key for survival.»

«Not if it's done at the expenses and the life of someone else. What do you want from this little girl?»

«We don't want anything from her. But see, she's a bit… special. We spent a fortune to keep her alive, and there are a lot of people well-disposed to pay an high price for that little girl.»

«This is slavery.» Mayu replied «You're nothing but beast.»

«Do you allow to all of your servants to speak like this?»

«This is the difference between us. They're not servants. They're my partners. I'm not forcing them like you, they spontaneously decided to follow me.»

Dorian smiled, but he was clearing running out of patience.

«Listen. As I said, I'm simply aiming to earn a big prize for that girl. She's expansive, but if you want to buy her I'll be more than happy to oblige you.»

Sylvia tried to reflect for a moment: the idea of pay such beasts was more than enough to make her feel hate for herself, but if this was enough to avoid a fight maybe it was still a good compromise.

«What do you want? We have money, gold and food. Take what you want.»

«Money and gold have valueless in the world we find» Dorian replied in a sarcastic way «And for the food, we have plenty of it already.»

«So, what do you want?»

«Well, let's see… you have a plenty of fine weapons, I see. More than enough to provoke a little war. And unfortunately for us, our job forces us to make a big use of such things, so we never have plenty enough of them.

I say, that girl for half of your light weapons and the ammunitions. A fair purpose, don't you think? After all, you'll be able to find more of them along your journey.»

That was more than enough.

«We should give you our weapons so that you could use them to slaughter and robber other innocent bastards?

Never!».

Dorian appeared to be stunned for that firm and severe answer, but he tried to preserve his self-control and friendly behavior.

«In this case, I think I'll take the girl back with me.»

But in the moment he tried to approach the girl, pursuing her to grab Ashley even stronger, Sylvia immediately raised her gun against him, and the Mexican standoff was restored. This time, however, the noise of the shells pushed inside the bulldog's cannons became perfectly hearable, not to mention that in the meantime Sylvia's man had reached all of the vehicle's assault weapons which were now pointed all together against the bandits.

«In this case, I think the girl will stay here» the princess replied. «And you and your scum have ten seconds to disappear from my sight.»

There were all the premises for a bloody battle, and all the children, together with the civilians, were so scared that they couldn't neither cry nor scream.

However, for the same Sylvia's astonishment, Dorian decided for first to avoid such massacre, ordering to his men to lower down their weapons.

«As I said, finally we have a ruler worth of her name» then he ordered to leave. «Have a safe night, Your Highness.»

Sylvia and the others stayed firm to look them till Dorian and his men vanished into the forest, then the princess approached the little girl, which looked her with her eyes covered in happy tears.

«T… thank you…»

«Are you all right?» she asked, receiving a subtle head not in response, before turning to Ruka with the most worried expression. «We leave. Immediately. Prepare the vehicle.»

«Aye aye, boss.»

«Why, my lady?» Helen asked. «You showed them your power. How can they hope to defeat the bulldog?»

«Did they seemed reasonable people to you?» replied a worried princess.


End file.
